PSAC Women's Basketball Preseason Release

IUP gained two first place votes and finished second overall to California in the 2010 poll of PSAC West women's basketball coaches while Lacey Claar (Imler, Pa./Claysburg-Kimmel) and Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) were named to the division's preseason team.

The Crimson Hawks are coming off a 17-10 record last season that included a 10-4 mark that was good for third place in the PSAC West. Half of IUP's losses came to the two teams that finished ahead of them in the division standings, including two of national semifinalist Gannon and three to California.

The Vulcans received four of the eight first place votes to earn the designation as PSAC West favorites going into the 2010-11 season. Gannon and Edinboro were both listed atop one ballot and were third and fourth, respectively, followed by Mercyhurst, Clarion, Slippery Rock and Lock Haven.

IUP returns four starters and its three top scorers from a year ago. That group is led by Claar, a senior guard who led the team in scoring last season at 12.3 points per game while setting school records with 74 3-pointers and a 3-point percentage of 42.8. A second team All-PSAC West selection, Claar also ranked second on the Crimson Hawks in rebounds per game (5.3), assists (88) and steals (40).

With 158 career 3-pointers, Claar needs only 13 to pass Katie Glaws for the top spot in school history. She holds the No. 1 position in career 3-point percentage at 40.2 (158 of 393) and is fourth in free throw percentage at 79.4 (173 of 218) and 12th in assists with 272. She needs 155 points to become the 19th player in IUP history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

Claar set an IUP single-game record with seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points in a win at Clarion and scored in double figures 20 times in 27 games.

Pastorek, a sophomore forward, was selected the PSAC West Freshman of the Year and one of 10 women chosen to the Division II Bulletin Freshman All-America team. After missing most of preseason practice and the first six games of the 2009-10 campaign, Pastorek emerged to lead the Crimson Hawks in scoring in division games at 12.9 and scored in double figures in eight of 14 contests.

Overall, the five-time PSAC West Freshman of the Week averaged 10.2 points and led the team and ranked second in the conference with a field goal percentage of 52.0 (79 of 152). She had a stretch of three consecutive 20-point games in PSAC West games, including a double-double with season highs of 25 points and 12 rebounds vs. Slippery Rock.

Other key returning players for the Crimson Hawks include senior guard/forward Eryn Withers (Burtonsville, Md./Springbrook), sophomore forward Brianna Johnson (Fairfax, Va./Oakton) and junior forward Amber Dubyak (Hastings, Pa./Cambria Heights), who redshirted last season after transferring from California.

Withers led IUP in rebounds per game (5.7), free throws made (95) and steals (42) while ranking second in scoring (11.7) and third in assists (64) last year. She came on strong at the end of the season, scoring in double figures in the final nine games including 23 vs. California in the PSAC playoffs. She enters her senior season ranked seventh in school history with 91 3-pointers.

Johnson started 19 times her freshman season and averaged 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. She had a season-high 16 points vs. Mercyhurst when she was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Week. Dubyak averaged 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds and made 36.3 percent of her 3-point attempts (65 of 179) in two seasons at California and was an integral part of two Atlantic Region championship teams.

IUP plays three exhibition games, including a contest at two-time national champion Connecticut Nov. 10. The Crimson Hawks open the regular season at District of Columbia four days later and play their first home game Nov. 29 vs. La Roche. IUP will host the 6th Annual Susan G. Komen Shoot for the Cure Classic Dec. 11-12.