INDIANA, Pa. – Senior forward Lexi Griggs scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead top-seed IUP women's basketball to a 67-54 win over East Stroudsburg in the semifinals of the 2020 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships Saturday at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
The Crimson Hawks (28-2) will play for their second straight conference tournament title – and seventh of all-time – Sunday against Gannon at the KCAC. Tipoff is 3 p.m.
 
Griggs, the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year, added two blocks and a steal as the Crimson Hawks limited East Stroudsburg (20-10) to 36.1 percent shooting on the day.
 
IUP took advantage of an aggressive East Stroudsburg defense to go 20-of-25 from the foul line. Griggs went 6-of-7 while five other Hawks made at least two from the line.
 
The Hawks never trailed in the game, breaking up an 8-8 tie with a 9-0 run over the final three minutes of the first quarter to take a 17-8 lead after 10 minutes. Griggs scored seven points on the run, including an and-one off an offensive rebound.
 
IUP stretched its lead to 14 points with a 9-4 run to start the second quarter, highlighted by a Natalie Myers 3-pointer.
 
Justina Mascaro, Maura D'Anna and Griggs each hit buckets as IUP took its largest lead at 30-14 with 3:45 to play in the half. IUP took a 34-21 lead into the locker room.
 
The Hawks' lead remained in double-figures early in the second half before ESU went on an 11-4 run to cut its deficit to 40-32. IUP responded with four straight points on foul shots by Mascaro and Rajah Fink and went on an 11-2 run to take a 51-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
IUP forced ESU into five missed field goal attempts and a turnover in the final three minutes of the third to score seven straight points.
 
The Warriors tried to gain momentum in the fourth but IUP kept its lead in double-figures to get the win and punch its ticket to the PSAC title game.
 
The Crimson Hawks blocked 10 shots, turned the ball over just 10 times, and outrebounded the Warriors 42-34.
 
Who stood out
Griggs led four Crimson Hawks in double-figures. She finished 6-of-16 from the field and went 6-of-7 from the foul line in 36 minutes.
 
Fink came off the bench to score 16 points and grab eight rebounds in 24 minutes. She shot 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from the line with two steals and a block.
 
Mascaro and Myers also hit double-figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Mascaro went 5-of-11 with a couple of 3-pointers and Myers had nine rebounds. D'Anna had six points, five rebounds and four blocks.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game ranked No. 7 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 8 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … IUP is also No. 1 in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings, which determine seeding for the Division II tournament … The Crimson Hawks will be making their fourth PSAC title game appearance in the last five years, winning championships in 2017 and 2019 … A seventh PSAC title would be the most in PSAC women's basketball history … This was IUP's second win over East Stroudsburg this year, defeating the Warriors 65-50 at the Kovalchick Complex on November 24.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks will take on Gannon (24-6) in the PSAC Championship game Sunday at 3 p.m. IUP swept the regular season series with the Lady Knights, defeating them 62-48 in Erie and 59-54 at home.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.