IUP suffered its third straight loss, dropping an 81-72 decision at Wheeling Jesuit on Wednesday night.

IUP (2-3) has played all five of its games against members of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, including its first ever meeting against Wheeling Jesuit. 

Siarra Cornelius earned a spot in the starting lineup with a strong performance last weekend and led IUP with 15 points and nine rebounds.  She was followed in double figures by Jahzinga Tracey with 14 and Kylie Miller with 13.  Tracey also pulled down eight rebounds. 

Freshman Kierstin Filla made her first college start and had nine points, seven assists and a pair of steals.  Cornelius and Staci Heberling also made two swipes as IUP forced a total of 20 Cardinal turnovers while committing only 13.

Katie Repicky led four Wheeling Jesuit (1-3) players in double figures with 19 points.  She also had eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.  Lindsay Coyne had 18 points, Megan O’Donnell tallied 17 and Katie Hine contributed 11.

The Cardinals rode red-hot shooting to the win, hitting 54 percent of their field goal attempts (27 of 50) while holding IUP to 35.2 percent accuracy (25 of 71).  IUP launched 30 3-point tries, mostly in an attempt to rally late, but connected on only nine.  Wheeling Jesuit also held a slim 42-39 edge on the glass.

Wheeling Jesuit led 42-38 at halftime and did not trail during the second half, extending its lead to as many as 11 late in the game.

IUP opens PSAC crossover play this weekend with games at Bloomsburg on Saturday and Mansfield on Sunday.  Both contests begin at 1 p.m.

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