Box Score  l  Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University had three possessions to take the lead in the final minute, but undefeated IUP avoided a massive upset with a 46-45 win over the Warriors in PSAC women's basketball on Friday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

The Warriors (3-4, 1-4) held the PSAC's top scoring offense to nearly 40 points under its 83.3 per-game average and forced the Crimson Hawks (7-0, 5-0) to shoot just 31.0 percent (13-for-42) - 6-for-23 in the second half - and produced 29 turnovers.

ESU led 29-24 at halftime, and while IUP took the lead with a six-point run to start the second half and opened a 41-33 advantage 10 minutes into the period, the Warriors didn't go away.

With its offense stalled, ESU held the Crimson Hawks without a field goal over the final 10:06 and scored six of its next eight points to get back in it. Over the last 10 minutes, IUP was 0-for-5 with 11 turnovers and shot 5-for-8 at the foul line.

Two free throws by freshman guard Jasmine Jones made it 45-41 with 3:21 remaining, and junior forward Fayola Moise put in a jumper on the Warriors' next possession to cut the margin to two with 2:40 left.

Another bucket by Moise with 1:21 left made it a one-point game (46-45) after Talen Watson made one-of-two at the line for IUP. ESU forced a turnover on IUP's next trip, but turned it over late in its next possession. Sarah Pastorek (12 points) drove but missed a layup with less than a half-minute to go, but blocked a layup by freshman guard Ryann Fiascki at the other end.

ESU retained possession and got a look for Moise in the paint, but the shot wouldn't go down and Vianca Tejada rebounded and was fouled for IUP. Tejada missed both at the line with eight seconds left and the Warriors ran the ball back up the floor, but were unable to get off a shot as the Crimson Hawks escaped after posting an 86-18 win over ESU last January.

ESU was led by Moise (10 points, 6 rebounds) and Veres, who scored all 10 of her points in the first half when the Warriors kept pace and eventually built a six-point lead (21-15) after a Veres three with 6:25 left. Redshirt senior forward Brittany McClain had seven points and five assists and freshman guard Ryann Fiascki had five points to lead the bench, which accounted for nearly half of the Warriors' minutes and added 19 points.

The Warriors shot 52.2 percent (12-23) in the first half and settled at 40.5 percent (17-42) for the game. ESU had 30 turnovers, 16 in the first half. IUP was 18-for-24 at the foul line while ESU was 8-for-10.

In the first half, ESU had an answer for every IUP threat, rolling off an 11-4 run keyed by a pair of baskets by Moise and a three-pointer by Veres for its 21-15 lead late in the period. IUP scored the next five before Veres hit another three, and after the Crimson Hawks tied it at 24, freshman forward Kelsey Murray had a putback and Fiascki hit a three-pointer with 32 seconds left to send the Warriors into intermission with a 29-24 advantage.

Pastorek scored 10 of her game-high 12 points in the second half and had seven rebounds, three assists and four steals for IUP, which was shooting a PSAC-best 48.8 percent entering the game. Talen Watson added nine points and Tejada (seven), Arika Ulman (six) and Lisa Burton (five) were the top bench scorers.

ESU hosts California (4-3, 3-2) in the second half of this weekend's action on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Vulcans are coming off an 89-67 win at Kutztown on Friday.