GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 6/14 IUP Crimson Hawks (17-1, 12-1 PSAC)
at Mercyhurst Lakers (7-12, 5-8 PSAC)
Saturday, January 27, 2018 | 1 p.m.
Erie, Pa. | Mercyhurst Athletic Center

Full Game Notes (PDF)
Stats: HurstAthletics.com | SidearmStats.com
Radio: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com | U92.5 Sports App (Android & iPhone)
Video: HurstAthletics.com | Stretch Internet
Social Media: Twitter | @IUP_WBB

COMING UP
Wednesday, Jan. 31 at Slippery Rock (5:30 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. Gannon (5:30 p.m.)

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
6th-ranked IUP women's basketball (17-1, 12-1 PSAC) takes their show to Erie this weekend to square off against Mercyhurst (7-12, 5-8 PSAC). The Saturday tipoff at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center (MAC) is set for 1 p.m. The Crimson Hawks have posted back-to-back blowout wins, including Wednesday's 86-60 victory over Seton Hill at home. The Lakers have had a roller coaster week, upsetting #14 California 61-53 before losing to Edinboro 73-54. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> IUP dominated the season's first matchup with the Lakers, winning 89-38 at home on Jan. 6; Five players scored in double-figures for the Crimson Hawks, who shot 60 percent and forced 27 turnovers
>> The Crimson Hawks' 17-1 record is tied for the best 18-game start to a season in program history; A win Saturday would match the 18-1 start set by the 2007-08 and 2014-15 teams
>> The Crimson Hawks are 6-1 on the road this year, their only loss coming at #14 Cal (62-53) 
>> Mercyhurst is 5-3 at home this year, with the three losses coming by a combined 54 points (vs. Ursuline, Seton Hill and Edinboro)
>> Following its loss to Cal, IUP has outscored Clarion and Seton Hill by an average of 86.5-51
>> IUP's 15-game win streak this season is the second longest in program history (16, 1999-00)

SERIES WITH MERCYHURST
>> With its win in January, IUP has won four straight over Mercyhurst and lead the all-time series 24-5
>> IUP is 2-2 against the Lakers in Erie since the 2013-14 season; The Crimson Hawks lost 75-55 on Feb. 3, 2016 and 73-64 on Jan. 11, 2014
>> IUP HC Tom McConnell is 8-2 against Mercyhurst, outscoring the Lakers by an average score of 71.9-59.6

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MERCYHURST
>> Mercyhurst is 7-12 overall and currently seventh place in the PSAC West with a 5-8 league record
>> The Lakers are 2-4 since falling to IUP back in January, with wins over Clarion (79-62) and #14 Cal (61-53)
>> Although primarily a bench player, Soph. F Amber Renz averages a team-best 13.8 PPG with a 53.1 FG% (93-175); After playing just one minute at Slippery Rock on Jan. 3, she missed the game against IUP three days later
>> Soph. G Lauren Lapertosa averages 13.3 PPG, and recently missed four straight games before returning against Edinboro (8 points)
>> The Lakers have the worst turnover margin in Division II at -8.32; They've turned the ball over an average of 19.3 times in their last eight games (2-6)

CRIMSON HAWKS ACHIEVED TOP RANKINGS IN PROGRAM HISTORY
>> The Crimson Hawks have been ranked in both national polls all season, currently sitting at No. 6 in the WBCA Coaches' Top 25 and No. 14 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25
>> They reached as high as No. 2 in both polls, the highest ever ranking for the program
>> IUP had been ranked No. 3 by the WBCA and No. 2 by D2SIDA for three straight poll releases

TOM MCCONNELL REACHES MILESTONE
>> HC Tom McConnell won his 100th game on the IUP bench with the 89-38 win over Mercyhurst (Jan. 6)
>> McConnell's .772 win percentage is first all-time among IUP coaches, and his 105 victories are fourth: 1. Jan Kiger (141), 2. Sandy Thomas (122), 3. Jeff Dow (108)
>> McConnell is averaging 22 wins per season, including a career-best 25 during the 2014-15 season
>> His recent 15-game win streak is the longest of his career
>> He's also nearing the career 200-win milestone with a 190-136 (.583) record in 12 coaching seasons; McConnell went 85-105 in seven seasons (1992-99) as the St. Francis head men's basketball coach

IUP HAVING ONE OF ITS TOP SCORING SEASONS IN RECENT HISTORY
>> The Crimson Hawks are third in the PSAC and 20th in Division II averaging 78.4 points per game
>> The 78.4 average is the most since setting the program record of 79.4 during the 1995-96 season
>> IUP has scored 80-plus points seven times and has defeated teams by at least 20 points on 11 occasions
>> The Crimson Hawks set a school record with 125 points in its Education Day victory over Geneva (Dec. 18)
>> Other records broken that day included points in a quarter (38) and field goal percentage (.685)

CRIMSON HAWKS ARE THE BEST SHOOTING TEAM IN THE PSAC
>> IUP leads the PSAC with a 48.1 FG% (534-1111) and 38.3 3FG% (130-339) 
>> The Crimson Hawks 38.3 3FG% leads the Atlantic Region and ranks 9th in Division II
>> They have made at least 10 3-pointers six times this year, including 11 vs. Lock Haven and Mercyhurst
>> Sr. F Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) leads the PSAC and ranks 12th in Division II with a 46.1 3FG% (47-102)
>> Led by Smith, four players have at least 19 made 3-pointers this year

SMITH PUTTING TOGETHER A CAREER SCORING YEAR
>> Sr. F Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) is having a career year, leading IUP and ranking 6th in the PSAC with 17.4 PPG
>> She has six 20-point performances and has reached double-figures 15 times in 18 games
>> Smith scored a career-high 34 points in a 72-53 win at Pitt-Johnstown (Jan. 3); She went 12-18 from the field, 6-9 from 3-point range, and 4-6 from the foul line
>> Smith hit the 1,000-point milestone at Mansfield; Her 1,171 career points is currently 17th all-time in program history - 16th Jodi Frederick (1191), 15th Beth McDonald (1202), 14th Margo Hinton (1205)
>> Her career 3-point percentage of 42.1 is currently the best in program history, and her 127 career treys is tied for 8th - 7th Marina Wareham (131), 6th Eryn Withers (Burtonsville, Md./Springbrook) (141), 5th Lindsay Stamp (169)

WOLOSIK ONE OF TOP DISHERS IN THE PSAC
>> R-Jr. G Lauren Wolosik (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) leads the PSAC and ranks 32nd in Division II with 5.2 assists per game
>> She set a new career-high with 10 assists in a 79-61 win over East Stroudsburg (Jan. 10)
>> Wolosik has dished out ast least 5 assists 12 times this year, including 8+ four times
>> She is second in the PSAC with a 2.2 assist-turnover ratio