PITTSBURGH – The IU Southeast women's basketball team defeated Carlow University 70-65 and fell to Point Park University 80-76 during their weekend trip to Pittsburgh.
On Saturday, the Grenadiers held on to defeat the Celtics. Carlow had two chances for game-tying thee-pointers but both missed and Emmy Ralph hit two free throws with 0.8 seconds to play to secure the win.
The Grenadiers (13-8, 5-4 RSC) led 32-31 at halftime after Josie Woods hit a jumper right before the halftime buzzer.
IU Southeast opened the second half on a 13-4 run to take a 43-35 lead but the Celtics cut the lead to 51-49 at the end of the quarter.
With the Grenadiers down by one with under four minutes to play, Ariana Sandefur hit a three-pointer to give the Grenadiers the lead that they would not relinquish. She had seven of her 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Emmy Ralph had 14 points and six rebounds to lead IU Southeast. Hannah Coleman had 12 points and six rebounds and Josie Woods, Sandefur and Lauren Lambdin each had 10 points for the Grenadiers.
The Grenadiers opened their contest against Point Park on Sunday on a 14-2 run. Point Park found its shooting form in the second quarter and cut the lead to 38-37 at halftime. Emmy Ralph carried the Grenadier offense in the first half, scoring 16 of her 19 points in the opening half of play.
The third quarter was all Pioneers. They outscored the Grenadiers 25-12 in the third quarter and opened the frame on a 21-9 run to take a 62-50 lead to the fourth quarter.
The Grenadiers chipped away at the deficit but each time they got within a possession Point Park had an answer offensively. A three by Natalie Fichter cut the lead to three with just over a minute to play, but Michelle Burns was able to hit a driving layup on the next Point Park possession.
After a miss by Fichter and a foul by Lambdin, Taylor Kirschner hit two free throws to put the game away. She had a game-high 23 points and Burns added 18.
For the Grenadiers, Ralph had a career-high 19 points, Coleman had 17 points and nine rebounds, Fichter had 11 points and Madi Woods had 10 points.
IU Southeast travels to IU East Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
