RICHMOND, Va. – For the first time since 1999, the IUP women's basketball program is headed to the Elite Eight as the Crimson Hawks defeated Bowie State 75-60 to win the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championship Monday night at Barco-Stevens Hall.
 
This is the first Atlantic Region title for IUP and the second overall regional championship in program history.
 
"I don't think it's sunk in yet what we are celebrating and what's really happened," said IUP head coach Tom McConnell. "You're just so involved with winning a basketball game and going up against a really good opponent. And all of a sudden the game ends and you're like 'Hey, we're the Atlantic Region champions.'"
 
The Crimson Hawks again had a total team effort and received contributions all across the board. Four players scored in double-figures, two finished with double-doubles, and nine players combined to shoot 20-of-28 from the foul line and outrebound Bowie State 41-to-25.
 
Redshirt junior guard Lauren Wolosik (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) was the main offensive threat Monday, posting team-highs of 20 points and eight assists. She shot 5-of-9 from the field, made three 3-pointers, and also 7-of-7 from the foul line. Wolosik never came off the floor, playing all 40 minutes.
 
"I was just trying to do what I typically do, get the ball to my teammates in really good scoring situations," said Wolosik. "There are some games where I need to score a little bit more and be a little bit more aggressive, so I was just trying to read the game."
 
It was a tight game most of the night that included several early momentum swings. Bowie State (22-10) grabbed an 11-4 lead at the first media timeout as the Crimson Hawks tried to feel out the game and their opponent.
 
After the timeout, they reeled off a 14-2 run to take an 18-13 lead one minute into the second quarter. Wolosik triggered the run with her first 3-pointer of the night, with Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry), Maura D'Anna (Springfield, Va./West Springfield), and Carolyn Appleby (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) all contributing.
 
The rest of the second quarter consisted of three ties and two lead changes. The Crimson Hawks widened the gap to 33-26 entering the locker room after Appleby took it coast-to-coast in the closing seconds and converted a running floater as time expired in the half.
 
Appleby finished with 16 points and six rebounds, going 4-of-10 from 3-point range.
 
Bowie State came out halftime on a mission, scoring the first five points to make it a 33-31 game just over 90 seconds into the third quarter. Wolosik knocked down another 3-pointer in response and minutes later Brittany Robinson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) had an offensive rebound and putback layup to put IUP back on top by seven with 6:44 left in the quarter.
 
Robinson had her best game in the tournament with 17 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes. She battled foul trouble early and responded with 13 points in the second half.
 
"[My teammates] have so much trust in me and I have so much trust in them," said Robinson. "You just kind of feel the game and go with the flow. Thankfully my shots were dropping and they could get the ball into me."
 
Bowie State again cut its deficit to two points but IUP came back with an 8-0 run – including five points from Robinson – to take a 10-point lead at 48-38 with 2:41 to play in the third.
 
The Bulldogs again battled back, bringing IUP's lead down to five entering the fourth.
 
That's when the Crimson Hawks turned it on, going on a 10-2 run to get their lead back to double-figures, and scored on seven of their final 12 offensive possessions to ice the game down the stretch. IUP ended up outscoring Bowie 25-15 in the fourth quarter, going 6-of-7 from the field and 11-of-15 from the foul line.
 
"It really is amazing," said McConnell on his team's late game success. "I think they just have a resiliency. They're unflappable. They continue to play regardless of what the score is.
 
"The amazing thing about them is as a group they keep getting stronger as the game goes on. You would think they would wear down, but they don't, they just keep fighting through it."
 
"I think that we're really good in crunch time situations," said Appleby. "We know how each one of us plays and we're going to go down fighting, and just leave it all out there on the court. Throughout this week that's what we did and that's what we showed what we could be."
 
Senior forward Megan Smith (Blain, Pa./West Perry) had IUP's other double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists.
 
The Crimson Hawks shot nearly 47 percent from the field, including a 12-of-22 performance (54.5 percent) in the second half.
 
"It's a very special group," said McConnell. "They all play for one another, they sacrifice for one another. There's a great comradery on the team. They care about one another, and I think it shows in their play. They're a joy to coach and just very deserving of every good thing that's happened to them. I just couldn't be happier for them."
 
Appleby and Smith receive tournament honors
Appleby was named the Atlantic Region Tournament Most Valuable player, averaging 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 55.6 percent from the field. She scored 21 points against Glenville State, had a season-high eight rebounds against California (Pa.), and went 7-of-8 from the foul line for the week.
 
Smith also landed on the All-Tournament Team with a team-high 19.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. She scored 25 points in the win over Cal and 23 points against Glenville State, totaling 20 made field goals in those games.
 
Wolosik also had a successful tournament
A victim of the numbers game with the All-Tournament Team, Wolosik was left off despite a standout week. She averaged 12.7 points, 8.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game, shooting 9-of-17 from the field, 5-of-10 from long range, and 15-of-16 from the foul line.
 
Wolosik also tied the single season assist record of 166, which was originally set by Patti Connaghan in the 1987-88 season.
 
2018 NCAA Elite Eight
The Elite Eight will be played March 19-23 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. IUP is making the program's first Elite Eight appearance since the 1998-99 team defeated Shippensburg to win the East Region title. That team fell to Northern Kentucky in the national quarterfinals in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
 
RELATED | Quarterfinal qualifiers set for Division II women's basketball (NCAA.com) 

Joining IUP in the Elite Eight is Central Missouri (Central Region), Stonehill (East), Ashland (Midwest), Union (South), Carson-Newman (Southeast), Lubbock Christian (South Central), and Montana State-Billings (West).
 
The eight teams will be reseeded Tuesday to generate first round matchups. National quarterfinal games will be played Monday, March 19 with the semifinals to follow on March 21 and the championship game scheduled for March 23.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.