INDIANA, Pa. – A strong Gannon second half performance proved to be too much for IUP women's basketball as the Crimson Hawks fell to the Lady Knights 50-40 in the 2020 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship Sunday at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
The loss ended IUP's win streak at seven straight as the Hawks drop to 28-3 on the year. IUP had defeated Gannon in both regular season meetings.
 
IUP also misses out on back-to-back conference tournament championships. The Crimson Hawks are tied for most in the PSAC with six all-time titles.
 
The first 20 minutes was a defensive struggle as the Crimson Hawks led 18-10 heading to the locker room. The 10 points allowed along with the four points given up in the second quarter alone are program postseason records.
 
But the Lady Knights (25-6) shot 48 percent in the second half and scored 20 points in each the third and fourth quarters to rally and get the win.
 
Senior forward Lexi Griggs scored a team-high 16 points while junior guard Justina Mascaro added 12 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Crimson Hawks were making the program's ninth PSAC title game appearance.
 
The Crimson Hawks entered the week as the No. 1 ranked team in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings, which determine the Division II 64-team tournament. IUP defeated Cal U Wednesday and East Stroudsburg Saturday.
 
The selection show will air at 10 p.m. Sunday night. You can stream the show here.
 
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For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.