INDIANA, Pa. – The Crimson Hawks' women's basketball program has been named the 2017-18 IUP Women's Team of the Year, announced Thursday, June 14 by the IUP Athletic Department.
 
The award is part of the Crimson & Gray Awards, which recognize the top athletes, coaches, teams and performances of the IUP Athletics season. The Awards are in their second year of existence.
 
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The IUP women's basketball program's 2017-18 season was hands down the best in team history. Led by head coach Tom McConnell, the Crimson Hawks won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division regular season title, the program's first Atlantic Region championship, and advanced to the national semifinals of the Elite Eight for the first time ever.
 
The Crimson Hawks set program records with overall and conference wins, finishing the year with a 30-4 record, including 20-2 in the PSAC. They also set a home court win streak mark during the year, winning their 21st consecutive game in Indiana with a victory over Seton Hill in the conference quarterfinals.
 
IUP started the year with a 73-68 exhibition win over the University of Pittsburgh at the Peterson Events Center back in November, before winning 15 straight to open the regular season. The Crimson Hawks went 3-1 against ranked opponents and rivals Edinboro and California (Pa.), then dominated the Atlantic Region tournament in Richmond, Virginia with three wins by an average of 20 points.
 
The Crimson Hawks advanced to the Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, dramatically defeating No. 11 Stonehill 75-71 in the quarterfinals before ultimately falling to No. 1 Ashland in the semis.
 
McConnell was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year with three players – Megan Smith, Carolyn Appleby, and Lauren Wolosik – garnering postseason accolades.
 
This is the third Crimson & Gray Award for women's basketball, with McConnell earning Women's Coach and Smith getting Women's Performance of the Year.
 
About the Team of the Year Award
The IUP Team of the Year Award is presented to the men's and women's teams who had the most outstanding seasons. The Team of the Year Award began in 2017 with the creation of the Crimson &
Gray Awards. 
 
About the Crimson & Gray Awards
The Crimson & Gray Awards are in their second year of existence and consist of 18 total categories - nine women, nine men - with top performers and performances from the 2017-18 year eligible.
 
Continuing from their inaugural year, awards include: Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year, Performance of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, Postseason Performer of the Year, Senior of the Year, Team of the Year and Athlete of the Year.

The IUP Sports Information Office collected award nominations from its coaches, with those nominees voted on by a select panel to narrow each category down to three finalists. That panel votes again to determine the winners.
 
Up next
The 2017-18 IUP Men's and Women's Athletes of the Year will be announced Friday.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Athletics on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.