BOX SCORE

(INDIANA, Pa.)  Lacey Claar scored nine points of her 17 points in the final 3:37 to help IUP survive upset-minded Bowie State by a score of 52-45 Friday night at Memorial Field House.

The Crimson Hawks, ranked eighth in the nation, improved to 7-1 while the Bulldogs dropped to 3-5.

Jahzinga Tracey led IUP with 18 points and 16 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year and added five steals and three assists. Claar hit a pair of critical 3-pointers late in the game and finished 7 of 8 from the line to help match her career scoring high first established versus Concord two games ago.

IUP shot only 18.8 percent in the first half, misfiring on 26 of 32 field goal attempts, and trailed 22-19 at the break. The Crimson Hawks continued to struggle after halftime and were still behind 38-37 with only 4:22 left in the game.

But Claar would not let Bowie State finish off the upset. Her first 3-pointer of the game came at the 3:37 mark and put IUP in front 40-38. The Bulldogs took their final lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Bianca Lee (Temple Hills, MD, Archbishop Carroll) 22 seconds later, but it was all Crimson Hawks from that point on.

Staci Heberling banked in a shot from the free throw line and Tracey hit a short jumper to give IUP a 44-41 edge with 2:02 remaining. Brittney Jackson (Laurel, MD, Laurel) committed a charging foul on Bowie State's next possession, and Claar drained a long distance bomb at the 1:21 mark to give the Crimson Hawks some breathing room at 47-41.

Leading 48-43, Claar made two free throws with 40 seconds left and added another charity toss with 18 seconds remaining to keep the game from getting any closer.

Lee led Bowie State with 18 points followed by Teaunsha Robinson (Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Polytechnic) with 13. The Bulldogs held IUP to 29.5 percent shooting for the game and held a narrow 41-39 edge on the boards but did themselves in by committing 25 turnovers and allowing the Crimson Hawks to grab 22 offensive boards that led to a 61-45 edge in field goal attempts.

Bowie State will break for Christmas and then return to action - Saturday, January 3rd at Virginia State University.  Game time for the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Trojans is 5:30 p.m.