INDIANA, Pa. - Senior forward Maura D'Anna scored the go-ahead layup and made a game-saving block with 21 seconds left as the IUP women's basketball team used a key fourth quarter performance to defeat Seton Hill 58-54 at the Kovalchick Complex Saturday night. 

The block was one of several defensive plays down the stretch for the Crimson Hawks, who kept Seton Hill off the scoreboard for the final 4:32 and put up the final eight points in the victory.

It was a big win with postseason implications, as the Hawks improved to 19-7 overall and 13-7 in PSAC play. They remain in fourth place in the division standings, one game back of Seton Hill. The Griffins fall to 20-9 overall and 14-6 in conference play. 

How it happened
Both teams were started hot from beyond the arc as six of the first seven made field goals were 3-pointers. Senior guard Courtney Alexander made a pair while junior guard Rajah Fink added another early to give IUP a 11-6 lead midway through the first quarter. 

Fink continued to put together a good start, making a pair from the line plus a layup to help give IUP a 17-12 lead before the Griffins came back with six straight points to go on top by one after one.

Seton Hill led 24-19 early in the second quarter when Alexander buried her third 3-pointer of the game. It was part of seven straight points as the Hawks retook the lead. Grace Mangapora came off the bench to knock down a three and D'Anna scored in the lane with 10 seconds left to give IUP a 35-30 lead at the break. 

Back-to-back buckets by Fink to open the third quarter forced a Seton Hill timeout as IUP grabbed its biggest lead of the night at 39-30. After a pull-up jumper by Alexander gave IUP a 43-35 lead with four minutes left in the quarter, the Hawks went scoreless until a Fink bucket with 32 seconds left. A late 3-pointer by the Griffins cut their deficit to 45-42 entering the fourth.

Seton Hill grabbed a 46-45 lead early in the fourth on another 3-pointer, but the Hawks answered as senior guard Justina Mascaro knocked down a trey of her own on the next possession. 

After a layup by Fink gave IUP a 50-48 lead at the 7:39 mark, the Hawks went scoreless for nearly five minutes and watched Seton Hill go up 54-50 with 4:33 to play. Alexander ended the scoreless run with a layup at the 2:45 mark and Mascaro tied the game 25 seconds later after a steal by D'Anna on the defensive end. 

With 1:41 to play freshman guard Kiera Baughman found D'Anna down low for the go-ahead score. The Hawks had a chance to extend the lead on their next possession, but gave Seton Hill the ball back with 50 seconds to play. After a timeout, D'Anna blocked Katie Nolan's layup attempt and Mascaro iced the game on a layup with eight seconds left. 

IUP forced Seton Hill into 0-for-7 shooting and a turnover in the final 4:32 of the game. The Crimson Hawks overcame a 9-point deficit at the foul line (Seton Hill 11-of-17, IUP 2-of-2) with a 43-to-26 advantage on the glass. They also shot 43 percent from the field while holding the Griffins to just 32.7 percent shooting.

Who stood out
Fink finished with a game-high 19 points, going 8-of-11 from the field and 2-of-2 at the foul line. She grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists in 38 minutes. 

Alexander added 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. She had eight rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in 30 minutes.

D'Anna stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, 11 rebounds, a career-high seven assists, two blocks and two steals in 32 minutes. 

Notes
IUP entered the game at No. 8 in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings ... IUP and Seton Hill split their regular season meetings after the Griffins won in Greensburg back in January ... IUP head coach Tom McConnell is now 14-4 all-time against Seton Hill, including 9-1 at home ... Mascaro now has 941 career points, including 770 over two seasons (56 games) at IUP ... The Hawks are 50-12 in PSAC West games since the 2017-18 season, including 26-4 at home ... IUp is 103-16 at home under McConnell, including 55-8 since the 2017-18 season. 

Up next
The Crimson Hawks enter the final week of the regular season with two more home games. They'll host Clarion (5-21, 4-17 PSAC) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and Pitt-Johnstown (11-14, 9-10 PSAC) on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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