Women race to 38-point victory on Senior Night

Looking to close out the regular season in style, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks picked up a 38-point victory on Senior Night, Wednesday, against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West opponent Lock Haven, 87-49.

Honoring arguably one of the best players in program history during pregame activities, in forward Sarah Pastorek, the Crimson Hawks were emotionally charged from the opening tip.

“Everyone, collectively, wanted to put on a great show for Sarah,” Head Coach Jeff Dow said. “Obviously, she was very nervous, but as a team, we were ready to go.”

Pastorek, in her final regular season game as a Crimson Hawk, Pastorek scored a game-high 20 points in just 22 minutes of playing time. Pastorek also had five rebounds and one assist.

“It was great to see her go out in style,” Dow said. “It was really encouraging to see her out there and it is very encouraging to see how she performed, considering she was out for over a month.

“Her performance is going to do a lot for her confidence, especially with the playoffs coming next.”

Also, for the Crimson Hawks, Lindsay Stamp, Ashley Stoner, Marita Mathe and Amy Fairman scored in double figures to help pace the Hawks to a lopsided win. 

Stamp finished with 17 points and four rebounds. Fairman, Mathe and Stoner each scored 10 points each. 

Fairman, statistically, had the best overall game for the Crimson Hawks as she dished out six assists and pulled down four rebounds to go along with her 10 points. 

“It was just a typical Amy Fairman performance,” Dow said. “She does everything we ask her to do. She is very efficient and is a great defender. 

“She really helped us out with her overall performance.”

As a team, the Crimson Hawks shot 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the field, including 50 percent (8-of-16) from beyond the arc.

The Crimson Hawks held the Bald Eagles to just 28.8 percent (21-of-73) from the field. The Bald Eagles didn’t make a single three-point attempt on 13 shots. The Bald Eagles also turned the ball over 19 times.

For the Bald Eagles, Sami Lane led the way with 14 points and handed out five assists, while leading-scorer Marrysa Moyer was held to just nine points but pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. 

“A big part of what we did was utilizing the full-court press,” Dow said. “We felt like we had more depth than they did and we wanted to speed up the game. Using the full-court press, we got them fatigued and forced them into some quick shots, shots that they just weren’t comfortable with.”

With the win, the Crimson Hawks finish the regular season with 21 wins and seven losses (16-6 in the PSAC West).

Next, the Crimson Hawks will host sixth-seed Mercyhurst, Saturday, in the first round of the PSAC playoffs at 7 p.m.