2012-13 PSAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - FIRST ROUND
No. 3 IUP Crimson Hawks (21-7, 16-6) vs. No. 6 Mercyhurst Lakers (7-19, 7-15)
Saturday, March 2, 2013 | 7:00 PM
Kovalchick Complex | Indiana, PA
Complete Game Notes (.PDF)
PSAC Championship Host Page
LIVE COVERAGE
Watch:
NMTVSports.com (IUP-TV)
Listen:
RedZoneMedia.com (WQMU 92.5 FM)
Stats:
IUPAthletics.com
AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks return to the PSAC tournament for the 8th consecutive season as they host Mercyhurst in the opening round on Saturday at the KCAC. IUP enters the postseason as the 3rd seed in the West with a 16-6 conference mark while the Lakers are the 6th seed with a 7-15 record. The winner will advance to play 2nd seed Edinboro on the road on Tuesday.
LAST TIME OUT
IUP finished off the regular season in style with an 87-49 win over Lock Haven on Senior Night on Wednesday. Sr. F
Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort) led five IUP starters in double-figures with 20 points while So. G
Lindsay Stamp (Erie, Pa. /Mercyhurst Prep) added 17 points and 6 assists.
ALL-TIME SERIES
IUP leads the all-time series with Mercyhurst 16-3 including wins in each of the last 11 matchups dating back to the 2004-05 season. The last victory for the Lakers in the series came with a 74-59 win over IUP during the 1996-97 season. This will be the first ever postseason matchup between the two schools.
THE SENIOR
Pastorek returned to the starting lineup against Lock Haven to much fanfare with 20 points in 22 minutes. It was her 14th double-digit scoring game and 5th 20-point game of the season as she's now 11 points shy of moving into sole possession of 9th place in IUP history with 1,266 points. As the Crimson Hawks enter the posteason she'll look to repeat the success she had in the PSAC & NCAA tournaments last year with averages of 20.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in IUP's four games.
HITTING THE “3”
The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC with a 33.8 3FG%, going 156-462 on the year. 5 different players have at least 20 3's this season, including a team-leading 51 from So. G
Marita Mathe (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana). So. G
Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center) is the most consistent shooter, going 28-67 (41.8 pct) this year. IUP is 5th in the conference with an average of 5.6 3's made per game.
REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Crimson Hawks remained at No. 4 in this week's Atlantic Regional rankings released on Wednesday. Gannon sits atop the list with Edinboro in 2nd and Glenville State in 3rd. California is 5th while Millersville (6th), Shaw (7th) and Blomsburg (8th) round out the top 8 schools so far.
THE HEAD COACH
Jeff Dow (Oregon, '88) is in his fifth season as the head coach at IUP, leading the Crimson Hawks to a pair of NCAA tournaments (2009, 2012) and a PSAC tournament appearance in each year at the helm. He guided IUP to a conference championship during a 26-6 debut season in 2008-09 and has a postseason record of 6-5 (4-3 PSAC, 2-2 NCAA) in his four previous appearances with the Crimson Hawks.
