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Jan. 30, 2010
Freshman Sarah Pastorek had her first double-double of the year, posting career highs in scoring and rebounding, to lead IUP to a 65-51 victory over Slippery Rock on Saturday at Morrow Field House to snap a brief two-game losing streak. Pastorek scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and had 13 consecutive points for the Crimson Hawks (11-7, 4-2 PSAC West) after Slippery Rock had cut an 11-point deficit to 47-44 with 7:36 remaining. Pastorek outscored the Rock (4-15, 1-5) by seven points by herself during the run which she ended with a 3-point play that gave IUP a 60-50 lead with two minutes left. Her previous career high in scoring was 13 points versus Lock Haven on January 10, and she established a personal best in rebounding for the second consecutive game after grabbing nine boards versus California last Wednesday. After missing the first six games of the season with a broken bone in her foot, Pastorek has come on strong since the beginning of PSAC West play. She is averaging 11.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in six division games and has scored in double figures in three of the past five games. Hillary Shope was the only other IUP player to reach double figures with 17 points while also grabbing seven rebounds to help the Crimson Hawks dominate the boards 45-23. Eryn Withers had nine rebounds, and Lacey Claar joined Shope with seven. Kierstin Filla dished out five assists to move with five of becoming the second player in school history with 400. Julie Molloy led Slippery Rock with 15 points followed by Chere' Marshall with 12 and Bethany Caudill with 11. Tynesha Lee pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, and Nikki Presto had seven assists. Pastorek hit 9 of 11 from the field for the game, including 7 of 8 in the second half, and 7 of 11 from the free throw. She began her one-woman offensive show with a free throw at the 7:23 mark and ripped off eight points in a span of 1:49 after Slippery Rock got within 52-50 on a 3-pointer by Molloy with 4:15 left. Pastorek regained momentum for the Crimson Hawks when she grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in while being fouled by Emilee Vietz. Pastorek finished 3-point play and then scored again off her offensive board to make it 57-50 with 2:50 left. Fifty seconds later, she took a feed from Claar and converted another 3-point play to build the lead back up to double figures. Claar and Shope combined to go 5 for 6 from the free throw line in the final 1:02 to seal the victory, IUP's eighth in the past nine games versus the Rock over the past five seasons. The Crimson Hawks had lost to nationally-ranked Gannon and California in their last two games after starting PSAC West play with three straight wins. IUP returns home on Wednesday for a 5:30 game versus Edinboro which will complete the first trip through the PSAC West. The Crimson Hawks are tied for third in the division with Mercyhurst, one game ahead of the 3-3 Fighting Scots. Gannon leads the PSAC West with a perfect 6-0 record followed by California at 5-1. |
