SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – With just seven available players and foul trouble throughout, the IUP women's basketball program used a decisive third quarter as part of a 65-50 road win at Shippensburg to begin Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play on Friday afternoon.
IUP (4-1, 1-0 PSAC) led for over 33 minutes in the contest, pulling ahead for good with strong efforts in the second and third quarters. All seven available players found the scoresheet for IUP, led by a team-high 15 points each for
Janeira Scott and
Rahmena Henderson.
Henderson went 5-for-9 from the floor, adding five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in another all-around effort.
Grace Centrulla added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Crimson Hawks, which finished 24.6% from the floor.
Leading by as many as 23 points in the third quarter, IUP withstood one final Shippensburg (1-5, 0-1 PSAC) push early in the fourth to secure the conference victory. The Hawks have won 11 straight PSAC openers since the 2011-12 season and 10 straight head-to-head meetings with Shippensburg since the same season. Bella Chimienti paced the Raiders with 11 points with Taja Colbert grabbing six rebounds.
IUP pulled away in the third quarter in a big way, outscoring Shippensburg 16-2 in the frame and taking control the rest of the way. Shippensburg scored its lone basket of the third stanza came with 20 seconds remaining as IUP led 52-31 going into the final 10 minutes.
Nyshae' Weaver had another strong outing off the bench for the Hawks with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds over 22 minutes.
Kiera Baughman logged seven points and five assists for the Hawks.
Shippensburg connected on just two three-point baskets in the game, finishing 30% from the floor as a team. IUP netted 10 three-point baskets on the night for the second consecutive game.
IUP took a 36-29 advantage into the intermission, posting 18 points in each quarter of the opening half. The Hawks dealt with some foul trouble with four players collecting three fouls early into the third quarter.
A barrage of first quarter three-point baskets, coming from
Elena Benito, Henderson and Centrulla flipped the momentum in the opening quarter as IUP led 12-9. After Shippensburg battled back, Benito converted again from beyond the arc for an 18-17 edge through one period.
IUP did not turn the ball over in the second quarter as the Hawks slowly built an advantage. Janiera Scott led all scorers with nine points in the opening half, while Weaver scored consecutive baskets as part of a 7-0 run for the Hawks.
IUP was strong defensively to start the second half, holding the Raiders scoreless for the initial six minutes of the third stanza, continuing to expand the double-digit lead in the process. Henderson canned IUP's eighth triple of the day, pushing the visitors ahead by double figures (39-29) at the 8:16 mark in the third.
Shippensburg went 0-for-15 to start the frame, finishing 1-for-16 (6.3%) in the frame. The Raiders scored their first basket of the third quarter with 20 seconds remaining on a layup by Makayla Foddrell. The foul trouble continued for IUP into the fourth, which led 60-45 heading into the final media timeout of the afternoon. The Hawks outscored Shippensburg by a 5-4 margin over the final minutes of the contest.
Up Next
IUP is set for a quick turnaround, visiting Lock Haven tomorrow (December 2) for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.
