GAMEDAY CENTRAL
IUP Crimson Hawks (17-6, 14-5 PSAC)
at Slippery Rock "The Rock" (11-13, 7-11 PSAC)
Saturday, February 13, 2016 | 5 p.m.
Slippery Rock, Pa. | Morrow Field House

Full Game Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: SidearmStats.com | Fan Stats | Media Stats
Listen: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com
Live Updates: Twitter | @IUP_WBB

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks wrap up a two-game road week as they head to Slippery Rock on Saturday night. Tipoff at Morrow Field House is set for 5 p.m. IUP has posted two straight double-digit point victories, including a dominant 79-60 victory at Clarion on Wednesday. It was the first road win for the program in its last four tries. The Crimson Hawks remain in a two-way tie with Gannon for second place in the PSAC West with a 14-5 league record, a half-game back of California for the division lead with three games left to play. Slippery Rock has lost four of its last five games, including four straight to divisional opponents. The Crimson Hawks have locked up a postseason berth, but The Rock enters the weekend in a four-way battle for the final two playoff spots with a 7-11 conference record. 

The game will be broadcast on WQMU 92.5 FM with the voice of IUP Athletics, Jack Benedict, calling the action. You can also listen on u92radio.com and on the u92radio app on your smartphone. 

STORYLINES
• IUP defeated The Rock 81-70 in the season's first matchup on Jan. 9; The Crimson Hawks held off a second half comeback with 28 fourth quarter points
• The Crimson Hawks are 6-5 on the road this season, snapping a three-game road losing streak with a victory over Clarion on Wednesday
• Slippery Rock is 6-6 at home this season, but has lost two of its last eight games at Morrow Field House
• Saturday's game marks the fourth meeting between sisters Leslie (IUP) and Audrey Stapleton (SRU); Leslie is 3-0 against her Slippery Rock sister, averaging 13.3 points per game, including 22 points in the win earlier this season
• IUP HC Tom McConnell hasn't lost to Slippery Rock in his five tries, defeating The Rock by an average of nearly 18 points per game
• IUP is averaging 76 points in its last two games despite not scoring 70 in the six games previous; The Crimson Hawks are fourth in the PSAC with a 70.3 scoring average
• IUP is one of the top shooting teams in the league, leading the PSAC with a 37.9 three-point percentage and ranking third with a 43.3 field goal percentage
• This game features the top two three-point shooting teams in the PSAC, as Slippery Rock ranks second with a 37.8 percentage; The teams are tied for second in the league with 6.6 threes made per game
• IUP has held opponents to 60 points or fewer points 12 times this year, including each of the last seven games
• The Crimson Hawks are giving up an average of 57.9 points over their last seven games, forcing opponents into 105 turnovers (15.0/game) and a 39.1 shooting percentage
• Slippery Rock is ninth in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 67.8 points per game; SRU, however, has scored just 45 points in each of its last two games against Seton Hill and California
• SRU's Lexi Carpenter, a former Crimson Hawks guard, is eighth in the PSAC in scoring (16.1 ppg) and assists (4.3 apg) and is fifth in free throw percentage (.872)
• The 28 points that the Crimson Hawks scored in the fourth quarter against Slippery Rock (Jan. 9) were the most in a single quarter for IUP this season
• The Crimson Hawks gave up 34 points to Cheyney, which is tied for the 11th fewest allowed in program history and the least since allowing 32 points to Lock Haven on Feb. 21, 2011
• IUP's 78-72 win over No. 13 Cal (Dec. 16) was its first over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 20 West Chester 76-54 on Jan. 4, 2015 on the road

LESLIE STAPLETON IS ONE OF THE TOP SCORERS, SHOOTERS IN SCHOOL HISTORY
R-Sr. G Leslie Stapleton (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) became the 23rd player in IUP history to reach the 1,000-point milestone at Kutztown on Dec. 5. She enters this matchup with 1,193 career points and is on pace to become the ninth player in the history of the program to score 1,300. 
• In seven career games against Slippery Rock, Stapleton is averaging 13.3 points per game, including a pair of 22-point performances - in this year's earlier matchup and during the 2013-14 season
• She has 61 career double-figure scoring games, including 19 times in 23 games this season
• She set a career-high with 26 points against West Chester (Nov. 22) and has seven 20-point games this season
• Stapleton is second in IUP history with a 39.4 career three-point field goal percentage (Lacey Claar, 39.5 pct)
• Stapleton is second in IUP history with 202 made three-pointers (Claar, 215)
• She has made at least one three-pointer in 89 of her 107 career games played
• Stapleton is third in Division II with a 92.8 free throw percentage (64-of-69); She opened the season making 27 straight and also had a streak of 22
• Stapleton is No. 9 in the PSAC in points per game (16.0)
• Stapleton is No. 4 in the PSAC and No. 62 in the country in three-point field goal percentage (.388)
• Stapleton is tied for No. 4 in the PSAC and No. 70 in the country in three-point field goals per game (2.3)
• Stapleton is No. 11 in the PSAC in field goal percentage (.470)

MARINA WAREHAM IS ANOTHER THREE-POINT THREAT FOR THE CRIMSON HAWKS
Sr. G Marina Wareham (New Wilmington, Pa. /Kennedy Catholic) is a top three-point threat, ranking second in the PSAC and 28th in the country with a 42.6 three-point percentage. Her 52 three-pointers made are tied for sixth and her 2.3 threes per game are tied for fourth in the conference.
• She has made at least one three in 20 of IUP's 23 games this season, including a career-high six against Edinboro (Feb. 6)
• Wareham is fourth on the team with a 10.4 points per game
• She has scored in double-figures 12 times this year, including a career-high 24 points against Edinboro (Feb. 6)
• Her 91 assists are 11th in the PSAC; She had a career-high eight assists vs. Slippery Rock (Jan. 9)
• Her 1.8 assist-turnover ratio (91-52) is tied for fourth in the PSAC 

ZHANÉ BROOKS PROVIDES IUP's DOUBLE-DOUBLE THREAT
Sr. F Zhané Brooks has seven double-doubles this year, including six in her last 14 games. Her career total is 10.
• She scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds in the season's first matchup with Clarion (Jan. 16) 
• Brooks leads the Crimson Hawks 7.2 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 13.8 points per game
• For her career, Brooks has 35 double-figure scoring games and 11 double-digit rebounding games 

MEGAN SMITH HAS BECOME A BIG TIME THREAT
So. G Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) has come into her own, reaching double-figures in scoring 10 times with two double-doubles in her last 13.
• She nearly missed a third double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds against Clarion (Jan. 16) 
• Smith is third in the team in scoring with 11.7 points per game
• She has 15 double-figure scoring games this season
• She scored a career-high 21 points against Slippery Rock (Jan. 9) and Clarion (Feb. 10)
• Smith notched her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Cal (Dec. 16) 
• She is third in the PSAC with 41 blocks (1.8 per game)
• Smith has 12 multi-block games, including a career-high five against Clarion (Jan. 16)

TOM McCONNELL REACHED 50 WINS AT IUP; TIED FOR FASTEST COACH IN SCHOOL HISTORY TO REACH MARK
IUP HC Tom McConnell won his 50th game at IUP with the 80-74 victory at Kutztown on Dec. 5. With the win, he tied Cindy Martin with the fastest coach in school history to reach the mark at 68 games. McConnell went 18-10 in 2013-14 and followed that up with a 25-4 record last season.