INDIANA – The East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team cut their deficit to four in the fourth quarter (51-47), but it's the closest the Warriors would get as IUP outscored ESU, 20-6, down the stretch to secure the 71-53 victory on Saturday afternoon inside the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex.
Playing their final PSAC crossover, ESU saw their two-game win streak come to an end as the Warriors drop to 11-9 overall and 7-7 in the conference, while the Crimson Hawks improve to 14-5 on the season and 9-5 in the league.
Notables
- Sophomore Cassidy Saylor led the Warriors with a career-high 18 points while adding two rebounds and a steal
- Ryan Weise got back on track offensively as the graduate student added 12 points, four boards, one assist and one steal
- Shyla Sanford recorded eight points and five rebounds while matching her season-high with four steals
- The Warriors finished 20-of-56 (35.7%) overall and 5-of-16 (31.3%) from beyond the arc
- IUP had an efficient afternoon shooting, going 26-of-45 (57.8%) from the floor and 7-of-15 (46.7%) from three point territory
- ESU and IUP attempted a similar number of free throws as the Crimson Hawks shot 12-of-19 (63.2%) compared to 8-of-16 (50.0%) for the Warriors
- The Crimson Hawks had a game-high 24 points from Maria Cerro while Alana Cardona posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kiera Baughman was also in double figures with 13 points
- The teams combined for 43 turnovers as IUP had 22 while the Warriors finished with 19
- IUP had a slim edge over ESU in rebounds (33-30) and points in the paint (34-26)
- The jockeying continues in the PSAC East standings as the Warriors fall to No. 4 with today's results
- The Crimson Hawks continue to dominate the all-time series, leading 21-4, as the Warriors have not defeated IUP since 2001
How It Happened
- With the score deadlocked at 4-4 to open the game, the Warriors had layups from Saylor and Sanford to go in front 8-4 at the media timeout. Out of the break, ESU pushed their advantage to five points at 11-6 and 13-8 and ultimately finished off the first quarter leading the Crimson Hawks, 15-11.
- ESU scored two points to begin the second quarter, but IUP answered with a quick 7-0 run to take their first lead of the afternoon at 19-17. Following an ESU timeout, the Crimson Hawks knocked down a pair of three pointers while the Warriors responded with two layups to make the score 25-21 in favor of IUP with 4:51 remaining in the half. Four more points from the Crimson Hawks extended their lead to 29-21 but back to back long distance shots from Weise pulled ESU within two headed into the break.
- With IUP leading 32-29 after first minute of the third quarter, the Crimson Hawks ripped off a 7-0 spurt to grow their edge to 10, until three straight free throws from Saylor made the score 39-32. Coming out of the media break, both teams caught fire offensively as IUP edged the Warriors, 12-11, to take an eight-point lead at 51-43 going into the final period.
- The Warriors tallied four points to start the fourth quarter, cutting IUP's lead to 51-47, but the Crimson Hawks scored the next five points to go back up by nine (56-47). Following a layup from Corrin Gill, IUP went on a 6-0 run to grab a 13-point advantage at 62-49. Sanford then got ESU to within 11 points but IUP closed out the game strong, securing the victory at 71-53.
Up Next
ESU begins the second half of their PSAC East schedule as the Warriors travel to Mansfield on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. tip at Marion Decker Gymnasium
