SLIPPERY ROCK — Jeff Dow delivered a stern message to his team at halftime.

The coach of the 18th-ranked Indiana (Pa.) University women's basketball team had just watched his squad commit 15 turnovers and sink only five field goals. The Crimson Hawks fell behind PSAC cellar dwellar Slippery Rock, 27-19, through 20 minutes Saturday at Morrow Field House.

“I addressed some players individually who had a bunch of zeroes next to their name in the box score about their productivity,” Dow said.

“I told the team that if it had aspirations of playing in the NCAA Tournament, we had to find a way to win a game like this.”

And they did.

“The Crimson Hawks (16-2, 12-2) outscored SRU 38-15 in the second half to take a 57-42 victory.

“Two totally different halves ... that's for sure,” SRU coach Tanya Longo said.

IUP wasted little time getting back into the game, going on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the second half. An Arika Ullman trey knotted the game at 29 with 15:16 to go.

The Rock's last lead was at 33-29 with 13:48 left. A subsequent 9-0 IUP run took care of that.

SRU (5-13, 2-12) failed to sink a field goal for nearly eight minutes down the stretch, enabling IUP to stretch a 41-38 lead to to 55-39 with 3:49 to play.

“They (SRU) played us really well in that first half,” Dow said. “They were being very physical on our cuts and we grew a little timid because of it. We played back on our heels for most of that half.

“We didn't let them get to the foul line or pull too far ahead of us. That wound up being key.”

The Rock attempted only four free throws all day. IUP sank 11 of 12.

“We make more free throws than our opponents attempt on a regular basis,” Dow said. “That's been a staple of our program the past three years.”

The loss was SRU's third straight — all against ranked opponents. The Crimson Hawks have defeated The Rock 10 straight times, dating back to 2007.

“There's a difference between playing with enthusiasm and emotion,” Longo said. “I don't want us being an emotional team. There are too many highs and lows that way.

“I was impressed by our defense in the first half. We wanted to take away their transition looks. With 15 turnovers, 19 points, five field goals ... we were doing a pretty good job there.

“The first few minutes of the second half were going to determine the game's momentum. That's where they got us,” Longo added.

Erinne Cunningham was the lone Rock player in double figures, scoring 19 points, including four treys. Her 49 treys this year rank third in the PSAC. Danielle Smith had nine points and nine rebounds.

Sarah Pastorek had 19 points and 11 rebounds for IUP. Marita Mathe and Leslie Stapleton had 10 points each.

Longo admitted her team will have to chalk up its emotional collapse in the second half to a lesson learned.

“I guess we do. Unfortunately, that's where we're at,” she said.

INDIANA 57Vianca Tejada 1-5 0-0 3, Sarah Pastorek 7-11 5-5 19, Talen Watson 1-3 0-0 2, Arika Ullman 2-6 0-0 5, Amy Fairman 1-2 0-0 2, Ashley Stoner 0-1 0-0 2, Marita Mathe 4-8 0-0 10, Liz Kane 0-0 1-2 1, Leslie Stapleton 2-7 4-4 10, Jessica Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Lisa Burton 2-5 1-1 5, Melanie Todd 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 20-48 11-12 57.

SLIPPERY ROCK 42Jasmine Cooper 1-7 0-0 2, Danielle Smith 4-15 1-2 9, Erinne Cunningham 5-10 1-1 15, Paris Thomas 2-7 0-0 5, Shannon Lee 0-0 0-0 0, Nicole Smith 0-0 0-0 0, D'Asia Chambers 3-12 0-0 6, Natalie Carroll 1-4 0-0 3, Danielle Garroutte 0-0 0-0 0, Emilee Vitez 1-2 0-1 2.

Totals: 17-57 2-4 42.

Indiana 19 38 —57Slippery Rock 27 15 —423-point goals: Indiana 6-14 (Tejada, Ullman, Mathe 2, Stapleton 2); SRU 6-19 (Cunningham 4, Thomas, Carroll).

Wednesday: SRU at Clarion, 5:30 p.m.