GAMEDAY CENTRAL
(3/4) IUP Crimson Hawks (22-1, 17-1 PSAC)
at (18/21) Cal U Vulcans (21-3, 15-3 PSAC)
Saturday, February 23, 2019 | 1 p.m.
California, Pa. | Convocation Center
*Rankings reflect WBCA/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

HOW TO FOLLOW
Stats: CalVulcans.com | Sidearm Stats
Watch: CalVulcans.com | Stretch Internet
Video App: PSAC Sports Network
Radio: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com
Audio App: U92.5 Sports App (Android & iPhone)
Social Media: Twitter | @IUP_WBB

GAME PREVIEWS
IUP Game Notes (PDF)
Cal U W. Basketball Page

COMING UP
Wednesday, February 27 at Edinboro, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 vs. Seton Hill, 5:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 3-ranked IUP women's basketball (22-1, 17-1 PSAC) hits the road for a top 25 matchup against rival Cal U (21-3, 15-3 PSAC) Saturday afternoon. Tipoff at the Convocation Center is 1 p.m. The Crimson Hawks bring a 7-game win streak into this matchup and are coming off a 79-62 win over Clarion Thursday night. The Vulcans have won three straight including a 76-56 road win over Mercyhurst Wednesday. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Sr. G Carolyn Appleby and Jr. F Lexi Griggs each scored 24 points and Sr. F Brittany Robinson tallied a double-double in the Crimson Hawks' win over Clarion.
>> IUP shot a season-best 59.4 percent (35-59) from the floor, going 20-28 in the 2nd half alone. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are looking to avenge their only loss of the season Saturday. The Vulcans won the first matchup of the year 61-56 Jan. 23 at the Kovalchick Complex. 
>> A win by the Crimson Hawks would clinch the PSAC West regular season title and the division's top seed in the conference tournament. IUP won the West in 2015 and 2018. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are 10-0 on the road this year including 6-0 in the PSAC West. 
>> Since losing to California on January 23, the Crimson Hawks are 7-0 with a +21.7 scoring margin. They are averaging 73.7 points and have given up more than 60 points just once. 
>> IUP HC Tom McConnell is 4-10 lifetime against Cal U and has not won in six trips to California. 
>> IUP has won three of the last five meetings dating back to the PSAC Championship win in 2017. 
>> Two of those IUP wins since 2017 have been blowouts - 90-65 in last year's NCAA tournament and 79-49 during the 2017-18 regular season. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE VULCANS
>> Cal U is 21-3 overall and 2nd in the PSAC West standings with a 15-3 conference record. 
>> The Vulcans have been ranked in the top 25 all season long and debuted at No. 4 in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings released Wednesday afternoon. 
>> This is the Vulcans' final home game of the regular season. They have a 12-1 home record with that lone loss coming to Edinboro 62-61 on Feb. 9
>> The Vulcans lead the PSAC with 25.1 turnovers forced per game and have forced more than 20 in 10 straight games dating back to mid-January. 

CRIMSON HAWKS REMAIN NO. 3 IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks are No. 3 in the WBCA Coaches' top 25 for the second straight week. 
>> They have been ranked in the top 3 in 10 of the 14 polls released - the most of any team.
>> IUP was ranked No. 1 for three straight weeks in January, going 5-1 as the top-ranked team. 
>> The Crimson Hawks have been ranked in the top 5 of the WBCA poll all year, starting off at No. 5 in the preseason rankings. They are the only Division II team to be included in the top 5 of every poll this season. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are ranked No. 4 in this week's D2SIDA Media Top 25 for the second straight week. 

CRIMSON HAWKS DEBUT AT NO. 1 IN NCAA ATLANTIC REGION RANKINGS
>> The NCAA released its Division II regional rankings Wednesday with IUP debuting at No. 1 in the Atlantic. 
>> These rankings determine selection and seeding to the 2019 NCAA Division II Championships in March. 
>> The rankings will have two more in-season updates before the field of 64 is released Sunday, March 10. 

IUP IS ONE OF THE TOP SCORING TEAMS IN DIVISION II
>> The Crimson Hawks lead the PSAC and are ranked 13th in Division II with a scoring average of 78.9 PPG.
>> They have scored 80 points 10 times and 90 or more points five times, including two 100-point outings.
>> Those 100-point games - 101 vs. Ohio Valley and 100 vs. Cheyney - are the 14th and 15th 100-point performances in program history. 
>> The 95 points against Alderson Broaddus is the 2nd most by IUP in a season opener (96 vs. Ohio Valley, 2002).
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 7th in the country with a 47.7 FG%. They've converted at least 50 percent from the field eight times this year, including six times in the last 11 games.
>> Four players average double-figures in scoring - Appleby 18.2, Wolosik 12.4, Robinson 11.3, Griggs 10.6.

CRIMSON HAWKS USED TO HELPING THEMSELVES
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 6th in Division II in assists per game with 18.6.
>> With 428 assists on 707 made field goals, IUP assists on 59.6 percent of its made buckets. 
>> The Crimson Hawks have nine games of 20-plus assists, including 27 in the opener with Alderson Broaddus.
>> R-Sr. G Lauren Wolosik and Sr. G Carolyn Appleby rank in the top 6 in the PSAC in assists per game. Wolosik is 10th in Division II at 6.4 APG.
>> IUP is 2nd in Division II with a 1.45 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Crimson Hawks have less than 10 turnovers three times in their last seven games (80 combined, 11.4 TPG) and average a PSAC-low 12.9 turnovers per game.

THE IUP DEFENSE ALSO AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 3rd in Division II in scoring defense, allowing 51.9 points per game. They also rank 2nd in 3FG% defense (.248), 4th in FG% defense (.336), 11th in blocks (5.2 BPG) and 22nd in steals (10.7 SPG).
>> IUP has held opponents to 50 or fewer points eight times, including a season-low 32 points to Shippensburg. That's tied for the 10th fewest allowed in program history and the least given up since the 2011-12 season.
>> IUP has forced at least 13 turnovers in all 23 games, including 10 games of 20-plus. 
>> IUP has faced nine of the top 10 individual scorers in the PSAC, holding them to an average of 6.7 points below their current averages. Ariel Jones (Shippensburg) averages 26.3 points but was held to just 10 on December 8. 

COACH MCCONNELL NEARS LANDMARK VICTORY
>> HC Tom McConnell carries a 140-35 (.800) overall record in his sixth season at IUP.
>> He's just 2 victories shy of becoming the program's all-time winningest coach with 142. Jan Kiger went 141-121 (.538) in her 10 years at IUP from 1986-96. 
>> McConnell passed Sandy Thomas (1996-2003) for 2nd on the list with 123 in the Nov. 28 victory over Cheyney.
>> McConnell's .800 win percentage is 1st in program history, ahead of Cindy Martin's .753 from 2005-08.
>> He averaged 23.6 wins in his previous five seasons at IUP with four straight 20-win campaigns. The 30 wins last year set a program record and he has three of the eight seasons in school history. 

CAROLYN APPLEBY IS IUP'S TOP SCORING THREAT
>> Sr. G Carolyn Appleby ranks 7th in the PSAC with 18.2 PPG. She's also 7th with an 81.8 FT%, 8th with 162 made FGs, and 13th with a 44.3 FG%.
>> She's led the Crimson Hawks in scoring 15 times in 23 games.
>> Appleby has 10 20-point games this year, hitting the mark eight times against PSAC teams.
>> Appleby is averaging 19.1 PPG against PSAC teams, including a season-high 25 at East Stroudsburg.

LAUREN WOLOSIK RUNS THE POINT WITH PRECISION
>> R-Sr. G Lauren Wolosik is one of the top distributors in Division II, ranking 4th in the country with a 3.2 assist-turnover ratio and 10th with 6.4 APG. She leads the PSAC in both categories. 
>> Since returning from injury Jan. 2 against Gannon, she's averaging 6.7 assists with just 29 turnovers in 13 games. 
>> She posted her first double-double with career-highs of 33 points and 10 assists against Edinboro on Jan. 21.
>> Wolosik has dished out 8 or more assists nine times this year, including five times in the last nine games.

BRITTANY ROBINSON CONTRIBUTES ON BOTH ENDS OF THE FLOOR
>> Sr. F Brittany Robinson is 3rd in IUP history with 162 career blocks, including a team-high 33 this year. 
>> She's tied for 3rd in the PSAC with 1.5 BPG while her 33 blocks are 4th. 
>> She has at least 1 block in eight straight games, posting 16 during that span. 
>> She's 3rd on the team in scoring at 11.3 PPG, including 15 double-figure scoring games.
>> Robinson's 59.2 FG% (113-192) would lead the PSAC but she does not have enough made FGs to qualify.
 
LEXI GRIGGS PROVING VALUABLE IN HER FIRST YEAR AS A STARTER
>> Jr. F Lexi Griggs is 2nd on the team in rebounding (6.3 RPG) and is 4th in scoring (10.6 PPG), and assists (44).
>> She also 2nd on the team with a 55.6 FG% (109-196) and 20 blocks. 
>> Griggs has three double-doubles this season, including a 17-point, 10-rebound performance at UPJ.
>> She has 13 games of 10+ points, including a career-high 24 points in the win over Clarion (Feb. 21).

NATALIE MYERS ADDS TO TALENTED STARTING GROUP IN FIRST YEAR AT IUP 
>> Jr. G Natalie Myers is averaging 7.1 PPG and is 3rd on the team in rebounding at 6.0 RPG. 
>> She is coming of her best scoring game with the Crimson Hawks, finishing with 17 points on 6-6 FGs (5 3s) in the win over Slippery Rock. 
>> Myers has three double-doubles this season, posting 16 points and 12 rebounds in the win at Slippery Rock. 
>> Myers leads the team with 36 3-pointers, shooting 40.0 percent. 

KENDALL HUNTER AND ANA HOLLEN ARE TOP PLAYERS OFF THE BENCH
>> Sr. F Kendall Hunter is the first player of the bench for IUP, leading all reserves in minutes at 15.7 MPG. 
>> She also leads all reserves with 4.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 12 blocks.
>> Hunter had a career-game at Millersville, scoring 16 points with 12 rebounds in 28 minutes.  
>> Jr. G Ana Hollen provides guard depth, averaging 3.8 PPG with 19 3FGs and 27 assists.
>> Hollen has two 11-point games this season and has hit 3 3FGs three times. 

THE CRIMSON HAWKS LOVE PLAYING AT HOME
>> IUP is 12-1 and averaging 81.7 PPG playing at home this season. 
>> In six years under McConnell, the Crimson Hawks have a 76-10 (.884) mark in Indiana, including three seasons with just 1 loss.
>> Last year IUP posted a 15-0 home regular season record, including 11 wins against PSAC teams. The 16 overall home victories last year tied a program single season record.
>> McConnell and the Crimson Hawks are 18-1 against non-conference foes at home since 2013-14.
>> Since 1983-84 IUP is 359-130 (.734) playing at home, including a 16-3 (.842) home playoff record.