INDIANA, Pa. - The IUP women's basketball team scored 27 points and forced nine turnovers in the first quarter alone as they cruised to a 70-38 victory over Livingstone on the final day of the PSAC/CIAA Challenge at the Kovalchick Complex Sunday afternoon. 

The victory was the second straight to open the season for the Crimson Hawks as they made their return to the court this weekend for the first time since March 2020. 

Senior guard Justina Mascaro scored a game-high 17 points on 7-14 shooting to go along with six rebounds in 32 minutes. Senior forward Maura D'Anna collected a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds while adding a pair of blocks in 22 minutes. Senior guard Courtney Alexander added 12 points and three steals. 

The IUP offense got rolling early, making seven of its first 10 field goal attempts and scored 25 straight points over a 7:43 first quarter run. Mascaro was the big contributor with eight points while freshman guard Kiera Baughman added six off the bench. The Hawks shot 12-21 from the field in the first 10 minutes and made another two from the foul line. Baughman finished the game with nine points and five assists with two steals and just one turnover in 21 minutes at the point. 

The Hawks struggled through the second quarter to take a 40-18 lead into the break but came out in the third strong, hitting 7-14 from the field, including three 3-pointers. IUP shot just over 40 percent from the field for the game and held a +14 rebounding advantage but still left points on the board by committing 24 turnovers. 

Up next
The Crimson Hawks will host the program's seventh annual Education Day Game on Wednesday morning with Mount Aloysius coming to the Kovalchick Complex. Tipoff is at 11 a.m.

Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.