ERIE, Pa. - The IUP women's basketball team put together a huge second half and held off a late Gannon surge as the Crimson Hawks posted an important 70-59 road victory Saturday afternoon at the Hammermill Center.
The win helped the Hawks keep pace among the top four teams in the PSAC West standings as they enter the final two weeks of the regular season. They also split the season series with the Lady Knights with each team winning on the other's home court.
IUP improved to 17-6 overall and 11-6 in conference play. Gannon fell to 18-5 overall and 13-5 in the league.
How it happened
IUP nearly led wire-to-wire, getting out to an early 7-2 lead after a 3-pointer by junior guard
Rajah Fink. Gannon came back to even the score at 7-7, but that tie lasted for just 50 seconds when freshman forward
Gina Adams scored as the Hawks finished the first quarter on an 8-0 run.
The run extended to 11-0 into the first minute of the second quarter as IUP jumped out to an 18-7 lead. The Hawks' defensive forced Gannon into 0-8 shooting with a pair of turnovers during the run as the Lady Knights went scoreless for 6:10 of game action.
GU did respond with a 15-7 run to cut IUP's lead to 25-22 with 3:26 to play in the half. Freshman guard
Kiera Baughman stopped the run with a jumper and Fink later gave IUP an 8-point lead before going into halftime on top 30-24.
The Hawks shot lights out in the second half, especially during the pivotal third quarter. They made five of their first seven third quarter shots and held Gannon scoreless as they grabbed an 18-point lead at 42-24. Senior guard
Justina Mascaro was big during the 12-0 run, shooting 3-of-4 from the field for seven points and an assist. Mascaro hit another 3-pointer in the quarter to keep the Hawks' lead in double-digits as they went to the fourth on top 50-35.
Gannon made it a game in the fourth, using an 11-2 run to cut IUP's lead to 59-54 with just under four minutes left. The Lady Knights made it a 60-56 game with 2:41 left, but Mascaro converted a layup and then made a pair at the line following a GU turnover to get IUP's lead back to eight points with 1:56 left.
From there Gannon went just 1-of-6 from the field while the Hawks went 6-of-8 from the foul line to secure the win.
IUP shot 60.0 percent (12-of-20) from the field in the second half and made 13-of-19 from the foul line. The Hawks also owned the glass, outrebounding Gannon 42-to-33 for the game,
Who stood out
Three Hawks reached double-figures in scoring, with Fink and Mascaro each going for 16 points. Fink added eight rebounds while Mascaro went 5-of-6 from the field, 4-of-4 from the foul line, and had six rebounds.
Baughman was the third Hawk in double-figures with 14 points while dishing out three assists.
Senior forward
Maura D'Anna had eight points, nine rebounds, four steals and a block, and Adams came off the bench to grab seven boards.
Notes
IUP split its regular season series with Gannon, owning advantages in scoring margin (+1.5), shooting (42.6 pct. to 36.4 pct.), 3-pointers made (13 to 12), and rebound margin (+1.5) ... Mascaro averaged a team-best 20.0 points and shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) in two games against the Lady Knights ... IUP head coach
Tom McConnell improved to 13-5 all-time against Gannon, including five straight wins in Erie ... Mascaro now has 906 career points, including 735 in her two seasons (53 games) at IUP.
Up next
The Hawks have another quick Saturday-Monday turnaround as they host Slippery Rock (10-12, 5-11 PSAC) Monday night at the Kovalchick Complex. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.
