KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Senior guard Courtney Alexander scored a career-high 28 points and tied an IUP women's basketball record with eight 3-pointers as the No. 10 Crimson Hawks rallied to defeat Kutztown 68-53 Friday night at Keystone Arena.

This was Alexander's second straight career game following her 24-point performance on Sunday. Her eight treys tied the record set by Marina Wareham against Pitt-Johnstown on February 17, 2016. 

The Crimson Hawks improved to 7-0 and stopped Kutztown's 5-game win streak on the Golden Bears' home court. It was the PSAC opener for both squads.

How it happened
IUP was forced to rally after committing nine first quarter turnovers as Kutztown got out to a 17-6 lead. A 12-2 run by the Hawks cut the deficit to three points and a later 3-pointer by Alexander made it a 2-point game at 23-21 with just under four minutes to play in the first half. 

Coming out of the break trailing 30-29, Alexander's third trey of the night gave IUP its first lead since the 8:06 mark of the first quarter. The triple started a 14-5 run by IUP, which included two more Alexander threes, as the Hawks grabbed a 43-35 lead with 5:52 left in the quarter. A layup by junior forward Teirra Preston a few minutes later made it a double-digit advantage as the Hawks kept Kutztown at bay the rest of the night.

After shooting 11-28 with 13 turnovers in the first half, the Hawks shot over 48 percent (15-31) with seven 3-pointers and committed just five turnovers in the second. They outscored the Golden Bears 39-23 over the final 20 minutes.

Who stood out
Alexander shot 10-17 from the field, including 8-14 from 3-point range. In the second half alone she scored 20 points, going 7-11 from the floor, including 6-10 from three. 

Preston came off the bench to post career-highs of 13 points and nine rebounds with two blocks and two steals in 24 minutes. Senior guard Justina Mascaro scored 13 points and sophomore guard Maria Cerro dished out six assists.

Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 10 in the WBCA Coaches and No. 10 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls ... IUP won the battle of the boards 39-to-27, the seventh straight game the Hawks have had at least a +11 rebound margin th is year ... IUP has won eight of its last nine meetings with the Golden Bears and are 6-1 in Kutztown since 2011 ... IUP is 46-6 in road games over the last five seasons, including 39-6 in PSAC road games ... Alexander has eight career games of at least five 3-pointers made, including three of 6-plus.

Up next
The Crimson Hawks finish up PSAC-opening weekend at West Chester on Saturday. Tipoff is 5:30 p.m.

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