INDIANA, Pa. - Senior guard Justina Mascaro scored a season-high 24 points but a double-digit halftime deficit was too much for the No. 12 IUP women's basketball team to overcome as the Crimson Hawks lost to No. 15 Gannon 60-52 on Sunday afternoon at the Kovalchick Complex. 

The game was a battle between a pair of top-25 teams and two of the top teams in the Atlantic Region. 

It was the second loss in the last three games for the Hawks, who fall to 10-2 overall and 4-2 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conferencce (PSAC) play. IUP was playing in its first game in a month and was coming off a program pause due to COVID-19 protocols, causing four games to be postponed. Gannon improved to 11-2 overall and 6-2 in the conference. 

How it happened
The Crimson Hawks led 10-9 in the first quarter after a layup by junior forward Teirra Preston but Gannon scored seven straight points over the final 2:50 to lead 16-10 after the opening 10 minutes of play. 

IUP closed the gap to 18-15 when freshman guard Kiera Baughman drilled a 3-pointer and later trailed 24-20 when Mascaro connected from deep. The Lady Knights responded with a 9-1 run over the final 4:06 in the second quarter as IUP missed all three of its field goal attempts and turned the all over twice during that span. Gannon took a 33-21 lead into halftime.

Mascaro was hot to open the third quarter, converting a layup and back-to-back 3-pointers in the first 80 seconds to cut Gannon's deficit to 33-29. IUP kept its deficit in single digits for most of the third, but again the Lady Knights finished the quarter strong by going on a 10-1 run over the final 2:16 to take a 53-37 lead into the fourth.

The Hawks went on a run of their own in the fourth, scoring nine straight points to make it a 55-50 game with 3:10 to play but too many missed shots down the stretch and a late bucket-and-one by the Lady Knights clinched the opponent's win.

Both teams shot nearly identical from the field (Gannon 41 pct., IUP 40 pct.) but the Lady Knights scored 19 points off 14 IUP turnovers and had 13 second chance points on 11 offensive rebounds, proving to be the differences in the game.

Who stood out
Mascaro scored her second-high 24 points on 10-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. She also had four rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes.

Baughman added 10 points in 26 minutes off the bench as the only other IUP player in double-figures.

Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 12 in the WBCA Coaches Top 25 poll ... This was IUP's second game against a top-25 opponent this year, falling to No. 20 (D2SIDA media) Shepherd 67-58 on December 18 ... IUP was playing without leading scorer Courtney Alexander, who leads the PSAC and ranks third in Division II with 3.55 3-pointers made per game. 

Up next
The Crimson Hawks will travel to Greensburg to face division-leading Seton Hill (12-4, 6-1 PSAC). Tipoff is scheduled for 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.