INDIANA, Pa. - Junior guard
Rajah Fink put up her second straight double-double and helped the No. 21 IUP women's basketball team outscore Mercyhurst by 16 points in the second have en route to a 77-58 victory Saturday afternoon at the Kovalchick Complex.
Fink finished with a career-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 34 minutes. She scored 12 second half points, including seven in the pivotal fourth quarter.
The victory was the second straight for the Crimson Hawks, who are now 13-4 overall and 7-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Mercyhurst fell to 6-11 and 4-7.
How it happened
It was a close opening quarter as the Hawks' biggest lead was 16-12 late in the frame. Five IUP players scored in the quarter, including freshman guard
Kiera Baughman and junior forward
Teirra Preston, who each came off the bench to chip in with four points.
The Hawks grabbed a little bit of a lead with six straight points, with buckets by Fink and junior guard
Mikayla Lovelace, to take a 27-21 lead. A 3-pointer, one of five in the half that helped the Lakers keep the game close, quickly cut that lead in half on the next possession. Another trey by Mercyhurst late in the quarter cut IUP's lead to 38-35 heading to halftime.
With IUP holding onto a 47-43 lead in the third, senior guard
Justina Mascaro connected on a layup to jump start an 11-2 run as the Hawks ran out to a 58-45 lead. Five different players scored on the run, including a 3-pointer by Fink that gave IUP the 13-point lead with just over two minutes left in the quarter.
The Lakers did manage to cut into that lead and make it a 59-52 game early in the fourth, but the Hawks responded with seven straight points during a 14-2 run to put the game out of reach at 73-54 with two minutes to play.
IUP owned the boards in the second half, outrebounding the Lakers 25-to-11 in the final 20 minutes. the Hawks' defense also limited the Lakers to 32 percent (8-of-25) shooting in the second half.
Who stood out
Fink shot 8-of-17 from the floor and went 4-of-5 from the foul line. She's stood out after her recent move into the starting lineup, averaging 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting 57.9 percent (33-of-57) over the last five games.
Baughman came off the bench to score 16 points in 31 minutes. She finished 6-of-12 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, and connected on 2-of-2 from the foul line. Preston had seven points and six boards in 16 minutes.
Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 21 in the WBCA Coaches Top 25 poll ...IUP head coach
Tom McConnell improved to 9-0 at home against Mercyhurst, 13-3 overall ... This was IUP's biggest win (+19) since defeating Shippensburg 79-46 (+33) on December 19 ... IUP tied a season-low with 11 turnovers ... IUP went 14-of-16 at the foul line, its best performance of the season ... This was IUP's sixth 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
A rivalry matchup is up next for the Hawks as they hit the road to take on Cal U (11-3, 6-3) Monday night. 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.
