GREENSBURG, Pa. – IUP women's basketball found itself down by a narrow margin most of the night, particularly in the fourth quarter, falling on the road to Seton Hill by a 65-60 count on Wednesday night.
IUP (14-6, 9-6) trailed for over 30 minutes in the contest but did not allow Seton Hill (15-9, 8-7) to pull away until late.
Maria Cerro guided the Hawks once again with 15 points and four steals, while
Gina Adams and
Kiera Baughman posted 14 points apiece. The Hawks shot 36.7% for the night and were unable to move back in front over the final three quarters.
The Griffins, celebrating 100 years of women's basketball, were led by a game-high 22 points (9-17 FG) for Christiane Frye. Frye dropped in 19 of those points in the first half for SHU as the primary offensive contributor early, adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sakeira Harlson added 16 points, including some timely buckets, to go along with 11 rebounds and five blocks for a double-double. Helene Cowan posted 13 points with five assists for the Griffins.
IUP went just 12-for-18 from the foul line, while Seton Hill used timely offense throughout the second half to secure an important conference win in a compacted Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West.
Teirra Preston struggled offensively with five points (2-9 FG), but matched a career-high 16 rebounds set in the first meeting of the season against the Griffins.
Baughman trimmed the deficit to one point at 58-57 in the fourth quarter before Harlson put the game away over the next few possessions. The Griffins had eight blocks on the night, going 8-for-23 from beyond the arc.
Alana Cardona stuck a turnaround jumper for a 5-0 IUP advantage with both sides settling into the contest. The Hawks expanded the advantage to 7-0 with a cutting layup from Adams before the Griffins countered back with consecutive hoops at the game's first media timeout.
Frye leveled the score at nine and 12 with consecutive treys, accounting for each of the Griffins' initial 12 points in the first quarter. SHU closed the frame with seven of the final nine points for a 16-14 advantage through one. Frye posted all six of the made field goals for SHU in the first.
The Griffins expanded their lead to 24-14 with a 10-0 spurt as IUP struggled getting out of its own way early in the second. Cerro drove for a much-needed basket at 6:41 before the Griffins answered with another three from Frye.
SHU ballooned its field goal percentage to 47.8% at the second quarter media timeout, leading 29-21. Cardona and Baughman combined for a slicing basket underneath as the Hawks worked their deficit to 29-25 before
Janeira Scott stuck a jumper following a SHU offensive foul.
Cowan worked her way into double digits with a hesitation layin, later scoring again off a turnover, pushing SHU to a 35-29 lead at the intermission. The Hawks committed nine turnovers in the stanza as SHU converted 12 points off those miscues in the opening 20 minutes. Adams notched 13 first-half points for the Hawks on 5-of-9 shooting.
The Hawks chipped away to start the third quarter with a 6-0 run, trailing 38-35. Cerro used a steal and score before SHU answered back immediately to keep the slim margin. Despite chances, IUP just could not get over the top in the third quarter while SHU cooled off from the floor with a scoreless stretch of over three minutes. Cardona trimmed the deficit to one at 42-41 at the foul line before the Griffins answered swiftly once again with a triple.
The momentum swing continued into the early portions of the fourth quarter as Alie Seto converted underneath through contact. Baughman stuck just the third triple of the night for IUP before Cerro raced ahead for an uncontested layin, bringing the Hawks to within two points in the fourth. Seton Hill continued to cling to a narrow advantage, which Harlson expanded to 58-52 with a putback.
Despite IUP whittling its deficit back to one possession multiple times, SHU had an answer each time on the offensive end. Harlson converted a stickback through contact for a key bucket, sinking the and-one free throw for a 63-57 advantage with under 1:30 remaining. Helene Cowan pulled down a crucial offensive rebound with under one minute remaining, providing enough separation at the foul line.
Up Next
IUP welcomes division-leading Gannon to the KCAC on Saturday, February 4 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.
