GameDay Central
No. 4 IUP Crimson Hawks (17-9, 8-8 PSAC West)
vs. No. 5 Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats (10-16, 7-9 PSAC West)
Saturday, March 1, 2014 | 7:00 p.m.
Kovalchick Complex | Indiana, PA
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
Watch: IUP-TV | IUP.NMTVSports.com
Listen: WQMU 92.5 FM | U92radio.com
Live Stats: IUPAthletics.com | Fan Stats | Media Stats
Tickets: Comcast TIX | comcasttix.com
PSAC/National Coverage
PSAC Statistics | PSAC Championships Host Page | WBCA Top 25
Other Links
IUP Schedule | IUP Roster | UPJ Schedule | UPJ Roster
AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks will host Pitt-Johnstown in the first round of the 2014 PSAC Women's Basketball Championship on Saturday at the KCAC. IUP earned the fourth seed in the PSAC West with an 8-8 divisional record while the Mountain Cats are the fifth seed with a 7-9 mark. IUP heads into the postseason after a dominating 27-point win over rival Slippery Rock to close out the season. UPJ is also coming off a victory, defeating Mercyhurst in overtime on Wednesday.
THE SERIES
Pitt-Johnstown has a sizeable lead in the series with a 34-10 all-time record. IUP has gotten the best of the Bobcats in each of the last five meetings, including a season sweep with wins of 96-72 win in the KCAC on Nov. 20 and 85-80 in overtime in Johnstown on Jan. 29. Twice these two teams have faced off in the postseason, with IUP winning 75-59 in the 2007 NCAA Tournament and UPJ winning 108-55 in the 1988 NCAA Tournament.
PSAC TOURNAMENT
This is IUP's 17th all-time trip to the PSAC championships. IUP is is 19-12 all-time in the tournament with four conference titles, including a three-peat from 2007-09, winning the program's first crown in 1988. (More info on page 8).
FIVE FOR FIGHTING
An impressive five players are averaging double-figures for the Crimson Hawks in the team's last three games. The balanced scoring has helped IUP average 73.7 ppg, including an 83-point performance against Mercyhurst.
RAINING THREES
With 5 3-pointers on Wednesday, the Crimson Hawks broke a single season program record with 186 3's on the year. It broke the previos mark of 184 set back in 2004-05. Four players have at least 25 3's on the year, while five are shooting better than 40 pct from long range. IUP is 7th in Division II with a 38.7 3FG%, which would break the current record of 35.8 pct from 2009-10.
SUCCESS AT THE LINE
The Crimson Hawks have been the hottest foul shooting team in the PSAC over the past seven games, converting a solid 79.5 pct (97-122) from the line. During that span, IUP has increased its FT% from 68.4 to 71.2, moving up from 9th to 6th in the PSAC. Sr. G
Talen Watson (Odenton, MD/Arundel) has gone 28-29 (96.6 pct) and Jr. G
Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) is 24-25 (96.0) from the line during that span. Jr. G
Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center) has made all 14 of her attempts.
SCORING BOOM
Two Crimson Hawks have set career-highs in scoring this year against UPJ, including 35 points by Jr. G
Lindsay Stamp (Erie, Pa. /Mercyhurst Prep) in the first meeting of the year. That total is the 2nd most all-time in school single-game history. Jr. G
Amy Fairman (Creekside, Pa. /Marion Center) followed that up with 24 points against the Mountain Cats in the win in Johnstown.
SCOUTING PITT-JOHNSTOWN
Like the Crimson Hawks, UPJ enters the postseason riding a high after a 66-62 OT win over Mercyhurst, locking down the 5th seed in the tournament. The high-scoring Mountain Cats are one of the PSAC's top three-point shooting teams, leading the conference with 7.9 makes per game. 4 players have made at least 39 3's this year, including So. G Kayla DeCriscio, who has a team-high 57 but only 2 in her last four games. UPJ has allowed 80 points 14 times, including 90 points seven times.
