RICHMOND, Va. – Senior forward Megan Smith scored 25 points to highlight a spectacular Crimson Hawks offensive performance as IUP women's basketball defeated rival California (Pa.) 90-65 in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championships at Barco-Stevens Hall Friday.
 
The Crimson Hawks advance to Saturday's Atlantic Region semifinals against the winner of Glenville State and West Chester.
 
"This was a really good team win for us," said IUP head coach Tom McConnell. "I'm very happy and very proud of our team … to get a victory makes it very special."
 
Smith shot 10-of-19 from the floor, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, to help lead IUP's offensive output. She was one of four players to reach double-figures in scoring, as the Crimson Hawks shot 62 percent from the floor, 7-of-13 from deep, and 17-of-19 from the foul line.
 
Joining Smith among today's top scorers were Carolyn Appleby with 16 points, Audrey Stapleton with 12 points, and Brittany Robinson with 10 points.
 
Lauren Wolosik was the main distributor, tallying a season-high 11 of the Crimson Hawks' 22 assists. She also got it done on the defensive end with six steals.
 
IUP improved to 27-3 with the victory, tying the program record for victories in a season. The 2007-08 squad finished 27-5. The win was also the 200th in the career of IUP head coach Tom McConnell, who is 115-33 in five seasons at IUP. He won 85 games in seven seasons at Saint Francis.
 
IUP took two of three from its rival this season, including a 79-49 home victory on Feb. 17.
 
"It was a normal game in the sense that it was a familiar opponent," said McConnell on his team's third meeting with Cal this year. "They know us, we know them. That made it easier to prepare. But at the same time, it was special because we knew it was the first round of the NCAA tournament."
 
The Crimson Hawks got out to a fast start, making their first five shots from the field to take a 14-2 lead midway through the first quarter. Cal (24-7) slowly climbed back into it, closing the gap to 19-17 early in the second quarter.
 
The game stayed tight throughout the second, until a 3-ball from Stapleton jumpstarted a 13-2 run as the Crimson Hawks took a 38-24 lead into halftime. Also adding energy off the bench was Lexie Griggs, who scored four points and grabbed four rebounds over a 3:44 time span in the second quarter.
 
Smith came out in the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers as the Crimson Hawks again started red hot. IUP went on a 17-4 run in the first 4:30 of the second half, making seven of its first nine attempts from the field to take a 55-28 lead. The IUP defense limited the Vulcans to a 2-of-7 performance with a pair of turnovers in the same time frame.
 
IUP's lead remained the high-20s in the third quarter and reached as many as 34 in the fourth as the Crimson Hawks finished out the easy first round victory.
 
Smith sets school record
Smith broke the IUP single season 3-point record Friday, as she's now made 78 treys this year. The old record was 74 by Lacey Claar in 2009-10. Smith's 548 points this year is the fifth most in school history and enters Saturday 19 points shy of Lindsay Stamp – who scored 567 points in 2014-15 – for fourth place.
 
Wolosik next?
Wolosik has tallied 152 assists this year, the third most in single season IUP history. Jacquie Negrelli (2001-02) is second with 154 and Patti Connaghan (1987-88) is first with 166.
 
Up next
IUP will play Glenville State in the Atlantic Region semifinals Saturday. Glenville State (31-1) is the second seed in the region and defeated seventh-seeded West Chester 118-87 Friday afternoon.
 
The Pioneers play an up-tempo style, averaging nearly 100 points with more than 13 3-pointers per game. Paris McLeod averages 20.8 points per game with six other players averaging between 8.6 and 9.8 points.
 
IUP and Glenville's common opponents are Bloomsburg and West Chester. IUP defeated Bloomsburg 78-50 at home Nov. 19 and West Chester 86-75 on the road Dec. 2. Glenville beat Bloomsburg 73-69 and split with West Chester (L 97-84, W 118-87).
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_WBB.