INDIANA, Pa. – IUP used some timely sequences throughout the second half in holding off a Goldey-Beacom charge, emerging with a 77-65 victory on Sunday in the nonconference finale at the KCAC.
IUP (7-0) shook off some sloppy play in its first action since December 3, using a key 15-4 run over the final eight minutes. The Hawks entered the game ranked 14th in the D2SIDA poll and first in the Atlantic Region rankings.
Maria Cerro logged a season-high 20 points, adding four rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes.
Alana Cardona just missed out on a double-double with 16 points and nine boards, while
Gina Adams and
Kiera Baughman posted 14 points each.
Teirra Preston had four points, adding nine rebounds and a game-high five steals.
IUP, which shot 63% in the first quarter and 50% for the game, overcame 29 turnovers on the afternoon in a largely disjointed effort. The Hawks posted a season-best 16 steals and held off a big third quarter from Goldey-Beacom (3-6) to finish out the team's fourth unbeaten nonconference slate in the last five seasons.
The Lightning whittled a 13-point deficit in the second quarter to just one on two different occasions in the second half. Alana Speaks guided the visitors with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Mone Izumi added 14 points and two boards.
Cerro pushed the Hawks ahead early with a triple off a feed from Cardona in the first. Cardona stepped beyond the arc for a three of her own, handing IUP a 17-6 advantage, which later swelled to 13 points throughout the opening frame.
Anna Kadlubek countered a Izumi jumper with a three at the 1:17 mark of the first for a 22-9 IUP lead.
The IUP lead hovered around double figures for a large chunk of the second quarter before the Lightning began to battle back. A quick 7-1 run for Goldey-Beacom, capped with consecutive baskets from Izumi, shrunk the IUP lead to five at 37-32. Cerro closed the half with a jump shot, set up following a Preston steal on the defensive end, pushing the Hawks ahead 43-34 at the intermission.
After a fast start for IUP in the third, GBC went on a run that trimmed its deficit to one. A 13-3 spurt from the Lightning made it 53-52 before Adams answered with a key triple on the next trip up the floor, brining momentum back in favor of IUP at 56-52. Speaks finished out the third with a jumper as the Lightning trailed 60-54 heading to the fourth.
A three from Karlee Lemon brought the GBC deficit to 62-61 before IUP closed out the fourth with its game-clinching run. A three from Adams and jumper from Baughman ballooned the IUP edge to eight points each time at 69-61 and 71-63. Baughman eventually stretched the IUP advantage to double digits at the foul line, preserving the game over the last two minutes.
Up Next
IUP is back home for a pair of PSAC crossover games, coming December 18 (Kutztown) and December 19 (West Chester) at the KCAC.
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