INDIANA, Pa. - Junior guard Rajah Fink hit a double-double and freshman guard Kiera Baughman scored a career-high off the bench to help the 21st-ranked IUP women's basketball team to a 76-67 win over Edinboro Wednesday night at the Kovalchick Complex. 

It was a much-needed victory for the Crimson Hawks, who had lost two of three on their recent road swing. They improved to 12-4 overall and moved back up into fourth in the PSAC Western Division with a 6-4 conference record. Edinboro fell to 8-6 overall and 6-5 in the league. 

The victory was the 800th in the history of the IUP women's basketball program, dating back to its pre-NCAA days beginning in 1971-72. 

Fink finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes for her first career double-double. Baughman's 18 points were a career-high.

How it happened
The was tight throughout the first half with five ties and three lead changes. Edinboro caught fire from deep in the opening quarter, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to take a 13-7 lead. 

IUP later rebounded from another 6-point deficit by rattling off a 10-0 run into the second quarter, including back-to-back buckets by Baughman and a 3-pointer by senior guard Justina Mascaro, to take a 19-15 lead. The teams traded buckets before the Hawks had their own streak of triples, as sophomore guard Maria Cerro, freshman guard Grace Mangapora, and Fink knocked down back-to-back-to-back treys to take a 34-25 lead with 1:04 left in the half. 

The Hawks increased their lead to double-figures at 49-36 in the third quarter, outscoring the Fighting Scots 15-6 over a seven minute span. Edinboro began to chip away at that lead in the fourth, scoring nine straight points to cut the IUP lead to 59-57 with 3:48 to play. The Hawks went scoreless for 3:05 while the Scots connected on 4-of-5 from the field during that stretch. 

A deep corner jumper by freshman forward Gina Adams ended the drought and IUP sprung to life again moments later when Baughman knocked down another three. The Hawks took a 70-64 lead with 50 seconds to play on a pair of free throws by Fink and iced it with two more from the line by Adams with 21 seconds to play.

IUP shot 50.0 percent (26-of-52) from the field, making half its shots in a game for the first time since beating Shippensburg on December 19. The Hawks forced Edinboro into 34.3 percent shooting and also outrebounded the Scots 45 to 29. 

Who stood out
Fink shot 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the foul line. The 20 points tied her career-high while the 11 boards was a new personal best. She added four assists, three blocks and a steal.

Baughman came off the bench to score her 18 points in just 24 minutes. She shot 5-of-9 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, and went 6-of-9 from the charity stripe. The point guard grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists. 

Mascaro was a third Hawk in double-figures with 11 points, adding six rebounds. Senior forward Maura D'Anna had six points, seven boards and three blocks. 

Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 21 in the WBCA Coaches Top 25 poll ... This was the eighth straight win in the series with Edinboro as IUP head coach Tom McConnell improved to 13-4 all-time against the Fighting Scots ... The win came despite a season-high 26 turnovers by the IUP offense ... Fink, starting her fifth straight game, has scored in double-figures for each the last four games and is averaging 15.8 points with a 62.5 field goal percentage during that span ... This was IUP's fifth straight game playing without senior guard Courtney Alexander, who leads the PSAC and ranks third in Division II with 3.55 3-pointers made per game.

Up next
The Hawks remain at home this weekend as they host Mercyhurst (6-10, 4-6 PSAC) at the Kovalchick Complex. Tipoff is 1 p.m. 

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