No. 15 IUP Crimson Hawks (6-1, 2-1)
vs. No. 22 Bloomsburg Huskies (5-1, 2-1) & Mansfield Mountaineers (3-3, 1-2)
Tuesday & Wednesday, December 18 & 19, 2012 | 5:30 PM
Kovalchick Complex | Indiana, PA

Complete Game Notes (.PDF)

LIVE COVERAGE
Listen: RedZoneMedia.com (WQMU 92.5 FM)
Stats: IUPathletics.com

AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks return home to the KCAC and host PSAC East opponents Bloomsburg and Mansfield on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. All three schools are coming off of a loss, with IUP falling at then-No. 10 Gannon 69-58, the Huskies losing at Millersville 62-55 and the Mountaineers losing at West Chester 72-57.

LAST TIME OUT
Gannon broke a tie with a late first half scoring barrage as IUP lost to the Lady Knights 69-58 in Erie 10 days ago. Tied at 19-19 with just over 6 minutes left in the first, Gannon closed out the half on a 16-6 run to build a double-digit lead. Jr. F Melanie Todd (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) scored a career-high 11 points while So. G Lindsay Stamp (Erie, Pa. /Mercyhurst Prep) came off the bench to score 14 points and Sr. F Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) added 13.

A NEW RIVALRY
IUP and Bloomsburg have played 37 times, but three hard-fought contests between these schools last year might have started a rivalry. After an early season 84-79 home win over the Huskies, IUP fell to Bloomsburg 75-67 in the PSAC semifinals in Edinboro. IUP then responded with an exciting 77-76 victory in the NCAA Atlantic Region quarterfinals, also in Edinboro. 

CLIMBING THE LADDER
One of the most dominant players in IUP history, Pastorek sits in 19th place on the Crimson Hawks all-time scoring list with 1,069 points. She is on pace to break into the top five this year. Pastorek is just 12 points shy of passing Jacqui Miller (2000-04) for 18th on the list.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE
The Crimson Hawks lead the PSAC and are 5th in Division II by giving up just 47.3 ppg. Five times they've allowed less than 50 points, including a season-low 24 points to Ursuline. IUP is also 2nd in the PSAC by forcing 24.6 turnovers per game.

NCAA RANKINGS
Due to the loss at Gannon, the Crimson Hawks dropped back one spot to No. 15 in the latest Division II ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches' Poll. The next ranking will be released on Tuesday afternoon. IUP is one of three PSAC schools in the top 25 with rivals Gannon and
Bloomsburg at in 8th and 22nd, respectively.

THE HEAD COACH
Jeff Dow (Oregon, '88) enters his fifth season as the head coach of the IUP women's basketball program after leading the Crimson Hawks to a record of 23-7, 17-5 in the PSAC, and an appearance in the Atlantic Region Semifinals a season ago. Earlier this season, Dow eclipsed 200 wins in his head coaching career and has a career record of 206-98.