Glendale, WV. – Cal U point guard Ciara Loyd sent the IUP Crimson Hawks to a heart-breaking, season-ending loss as she scored off of her own missed shot on a put back with 6/10 of a second remaining, giving the Vulcans a 52-51 victory in the opening round to the NCAA Division II Women’s Atlantic Regional Tournament.
Mark Bertig had the recap on U92.5 FM.
Listen to Bertig’s post-game interview with Assistant Coach Cam Boehner below.
Loyds’ first shot missed, and the rebound went through an IUP players hands and deflected back to Loyd who made no mistake on her second attempt despite being heavily defended in the paint.
After leading 27-23 at the half, the Vulcans outscored the Hawks, 21-8, in the third quarter, taking a 44-35 lead. IUP responded and battled back to take the lead after PSAC Player of the Year Dejah Terrell was ejected on a double foul with 4:45 remaining, including a dead ball intentional foul that dropped Alaina Córdona to the floor. Rajah Fink made 3 of 4 free throws and IUP took a 47-46 lead at that point and the two teams went back and forth until Loyd’s heroics.
Loyd led the Vulcans (25-5) with 16 points, while Terrell finished with 13. The Crimson Hawks were paced by freshman point guard Kiera Baughman with 13 points. Justin Mascaro was also in double figures with 12 and went over 1000 points in her career when she scored her 10th point at the 6:10 mark of the 4th quarter.
The Hawks will lose four players to graduation, including Mascaro, Courtney Alexander, Maura D’Anna, and Mikayla Lovelace.
IUP finished the season 21-9. After starting 10-1, the Hawks were 11-8 the rest of the way.
