INDIANA, Pa. – IUP women's basketball pulled away down the stretch with a 71-52 victory against Edinboro, pushing the team to its fourth consecutive win and moving the Crimson Hawks to second place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West standings on Wednesday night.
 
IUP (18-7, 13-7) continued its trek toward the conference tournament with the victory, placing the starting lineup in double figures once again. The Hawks limited Edinboro (15-9, 12-7) from beyond the arc after the opening quarter, eventually pulling away with a 12-2 surge over the final 1:52 of the contest.
 
Kiera Baughman logged a double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and a steal, while Teirra Preston posted a double-double in the low block with 14 points and 13 boards.
 
Maria Cerro dropped in 13 points and Alana Cardona added 13 points and nine rebounds in another balanced offensive output. IUP again used an advantage on the glass and accurate foul shooting to earn the victory, which was tightly contested well into the fourth quarter.
 
Rana Elhusseini dropped 36 points in the first meeting between the two squads, finishing with 16 points and five boards on Wednesday. Morgan Gentile also reached double figures with 10 points for the Fighting Scots, which used a 6-0 surge to level the score at 49 with just over six minutes left.
 
IUP took a two-point advantage into the intermission, led by eight points apiece from Preston and Adams. Neither side was able stretch the lead beyond two possessions in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Edinboro made three triples in the opening quarter, going 0-for-4 from deep in the second stanza. Meanwhile, IUP again used an advantage at the foul line to secure a narrow margin.
 
IUP zipped ahead 6-3 following a stickback from Preston, later pushing the advantage to 9-6 with a pair of free throws from Baughman. The Scots moved in front briefly after baskets from Morgan Gentile and Macie Jarrett in the opening quarter. The Hawks rounded out the first quarter scoring with a triple from the Adams at the 37-second mark for an 18-16 advantage.
 
Gina Adams converted another attempt from beyond the arc early in the second, breaking a tie at 23-20 in favor of the Hawks. Cardona made the front end of two foul shots for a four-point advantage with 2:08 left in the half before the Scots narrowed the gap once again.
 
Anna Rafferty's layup with 35 seconds remaining in the second quarter pushed IUP to the narrow 30-28 halftime margin.
 
IUP led by as many as 11 in the third quarter before Edinboro trimmed the deficit to seven at the end of the frame. Baughman surged inside for a 45-34 before the Scots took advantage of some sloppy IUP offense to get back within single digits.
 
The Scots continued their run at the start of the fourth quarter, knotting the score at 49. From there, IUP posted the next 10 points to go ahead by double figures, a lead the team would not relinquish. Cardona had six points during the run before IUP finished out the game at the foul line.
 
Up Next
IUP closes the home portion of the regular season on Saturday, February 18 for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff against Slippery Rock.
 
Follow  
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.
 

 

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