INDIANA, Pa. - Down 19 points in the fourth quarter, the IUP women's basketball team cut its deficit to six with two minutes left but couldn't complete the comeback, as the Crimson Hawks fell to Edinboro 63-55 in the opening round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament Monday night.

The Hawks outscored Edinboro 22-13 in the final quarter, forcing six turnovers and outshooting the Fighting Scots 47.4 to 36.4 percent. 

The loss gives the Hawks a 21-8 overall record as they will now be forced to play the waiting game to see if they gain selection to the NCAA Division II tournament. The selection show airs on NCAA.com Sunday night, March 6.

Edinboro improved to 14-11 overall and advances to the quarterfinal round to play divisional top-seed Cal U on Wednesday.

How it happened
Both teams played tight for most of the first quarter, with IUP taking a 10-9 lead when senior guard Justina Mascaro knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:11 left in the frame. The Fighting Scots made a run to finish it off, scoring nine straight points over the final 2:28, including a 3-pointer in the closing seconds, to take an 18-10 lead at the first break. 

Edinboro got its lead to double-digits early in the second, but a Mascaro layup brought the deficit back down to nine points. The IUP defense then held EU without a score for 3:32, but the Hawks also went on a long drought and was unable to chip away at its deficit. Boro again finished the quarter strong, going on a 9-2 run to take a 34-20 lead at half. 

The Fighting Scots took control in the third, going on a 12-0 run to extend their lead to 50-27 with 2:28 left. IUP followed with a pair of 3-pointers by Mascaro and freshman forward Gina Adams and used that momentum to go on a 12-0 run in the fourth to cut Edinboro's lead to seven at 52-45. The Hawks forced four turnovers on their run with Mascaro and freshman guard Kiera Baughman each scoring five points as IUP completely turned the game around with 5:48 to play.

Later Baughman knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 54-48 game with 4:15 left. After a Boro bucket, Mascaro's driving layup again cut IUP's deficit to six with 2:06 to play. Edinboro answered with a 3-pointer and later knocked down a pair at the foul line to lead 61-52 with 47 seconds left. Adams knocked down a trey on IUP's next possession, but Edinboro again made their foul shots and time ran out for the Hawks. 

IUP forced Edinboro into 18 turnovers, but the Hawks turned the ball over 18 times themselves. The Fighting Scots were nearly perfect from the foul line, going 14-of-15 while IUP converted just 3-of-9 at the charity stripe.

Who stood out
Mascaro finished with a team-best 19 points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field with three 3-pointers. She also had eight rebounds in 37 minutes. 

Baughman added 16 points, going 6-of-13 from the field with a 3-pointer. She also had a season-best four steals in 37 minutes. 

Adams had eight points, four rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes off the bench. Senior forward Maura D'Anna had 11 rebounds. 

Notes
IUP entered the game at No. 6 in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings (Feb. 23) ... The next regional ranking release will come on Wednesday, March 2 ... This marks IUP's earliest PSAC tournament exit, entering the game with two wins in its previous two first round games ... IUP was making its 24th all-time PSAC tournament appearance, including its 16th straight dating back to 2006 ... IUP is now 32-18 all-time in the PSAC tournament ... IUP head coach Tom McConnell falls to 13-6 in the PSAC tournament ... Mascaro has 990 career points, including 819 over two seasons (59 games) at IUP. 

Up next
The NCAA Selection Committee announces the Division II field of 64 on Sunday, March 6. The NCAA tournament is slated to begin on Friday, March 11. 

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