INDIANA, Pa. – IUP fell behind early and could not recover despite a late push down the stretch, falling to Slippery Rock, 70-57, on Saturday in the regular season home finale.
 
IUP (18-8, 13-8) recognized seniors Alana Cardona and Josie Smith prior to tipoff. The Hawks got off to a sluggish start offensively, finishing 39.6% from the floor. Cardona posted a team-high 16 points, while Maria Cerro added 14 points and six rebounds.
 
Kiera Baughman, Teirra Preston and Janeira Scott added seven points each for the Hawks. Slippery Rock (15-11, 10-10) held the advantage for much of the contest following the fast start, receiving a game-high 22 points from Deleah Gibson. Isabellah Middleton added 20 points and eight rebounds, while Jada Ward fired in 11 points off the bench.
 
IUP committed 19 turnovers on the day and charged back to within seven points late in the fourth quarter.
 
Slippery Rock stormed out of the gate with a fast start, zipping ahead 23-4 to build a substantial lead around nine minutes in, holding the advantage most of the way. SRU ended the half shooting nearly 60% from the floor, while IUP was just 26% for the half.
 
SRU forced IUP into several turnovers in the opening stanza, ultimately using a 19-2 run that spanned over six minutes to surge ahead. Gibson racked up 17 first-half points for SRU with Middleton adding nine.
 
Consecutive buckets from Gibson made it a 17-point SRU advantage early, a lead SRU stretched to as many as 19 in the frame.
 
Cardona hesitated for a triple, providing IUP with a much-needed basket with just over one minute to go in the first quarter. Moments later, Scott answered with a three from the right corner, brining IUP back to within 25-10.
 
IUP found its shooting touch a bit in the second with triples from Cardona, Gina Adams and Baughman, all part of a quick surge that brought the Hawks back within striking distance. After the three-point barrage, IUP went cold from the field despite playing much better on the defensive end.
 
Going over five minutes without a basket, IUP surrendered another run that provided the momentum back to Slippery Rock near the end of the first half. The Rock closed the first half with an 11-0 run over the final 7:46 as IUP missed 11 of its final 12 field goal attempts.
 
The Hawks attempted to narrow the gap in the third, but could not get to within less than 15. IUP methodically chipped away in the fourth quarter, using a quick 6-0 burst to get back within 55-43 in the fourth. A timely triple from Gibson stretched the SRU lead back to 17 at 60-43 before the Hawks countered with consecutive layins heading into the game's final media timeout.
 
Neither side found the basket for the next two minutes out of the media timeout as SRU maintained a 61-49 advantage. An and-one basket for Cerro trimmed the deficit to 11 points with under two minutes remaining. Preston helped whittle the deficit to seven with a foul shot and layup inside with 40 seconds left.
 
SRU eventually closed the contest out at the foul line, securing the season sweep.
 
Up Next
IUP has its bye on Wednesday, later closing out the regular season slate at Cal U (Pa.) on Saturday, February 25 at 1:00 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.
 

 

---