INDIANA, Pa. – IUP women's basketball placed four scorers in double figures for the first time this season, forced 24 turnovers and used a decisive second half to emerge with an 80-52 victory against Shepherd on Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover play.
IUP (8-2, 5-1) pushes its winning streak to four straight, outscoring Shepherd (3-8) by a 17-9 margin over the final 10 minutes despite being deliberate with the clock down the stretch.
Rahmena Henderson and
Nyshae' Weaver logged a team-high 15 points each for the Hawks, which shot 44.4% for the game.
Weaver recorded a double-double off the bench, logging 12 rebounds (eight offensive) with three slick assists on the evening.
Janeira Scott notched 14 points (5-7 FG) with three assists and a steal, while
Teirra Preston posted 10 points, eight rebounds and five steals in her 100th career game.
IUP led for 38 minutes of the game, promptly countering a Shepherd run in the second quarter. The Rams received a game-high 16 points from Kara Wehner as Cara Minor logged 14 points and six rebounds.
The Hawks owned the battle of the boards, holding a 47-29 edge on the glass and converting it to a 22-3 advantage in second chance points. The Hawks had their way inside, posting a 52-22 margin in paint points despite some trouble finishing underneath at times.
Shepherd stayed the course in the first half, overcoming a turnover-plagued start to the game to stay within striking distance at the intermission. IUP opened the game with a 10-2 spurt, including a go-ahead layup for
Maria Cerro at the 6:06 mark of the first quarter.
Weaver converted through contact inside and stretched the IUP advantage to 10 with a foul shot with 44 seconds left in the opening quarter. Shepherd posted eight of the opening 10 points of the second stanza, slicing the IUP lead to just one at 20-19.
The Rams converted off an IUP turnover, taking a 25-24 lead on a driving basket from Jordan Carr. The lead was short lived for the Rams with IUP working its advantage back to seven points at 35-22. Henderson posted two of her 10 first half points, handing IUP a 34-29 edge at the intermission.
IUP held a 10-0 edge in second chance points and a 22-12 edge in paint points over the opening half. With a combined 24 fouls in the first half, neither side could get into much of a rhythm into the second quarter.
A 6-0 flurry over a 1:37 stretch ballooned the IUP advantage to 16 points with just over three minutes remaining in the third. Scott posted nine second half points for the Hawks, using a seven-point personal run spanning around four minutes to put things away.
Grace Centrulla stretched the IUP lead to its largest of the night (31) with a layup off a feed from
Maria Cerro for a 78-47 cushion. The Hawks melted the clock the rest of the way and continued their strong defense. Centrulla finished with nine points and five rebounds for the hosts, while
Kiera Baughman chipped in eight points.
Cerro finished with four assists and four rebounds to go along with seven points off the bench in an all-around showing.
Up Next
IUP finishes out the nonconference portion of its schedule on Saturday, January 6 against Daemen. Tipoff from the KCAC is set for 1:00 PM.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.
