GAMEDAY CENTRAL
(8/4) IUP Crimson Hawks (22-2, 17-2 PSAC)
at Edinboro Fighting Scots (19-6, 14-5 PSAC)
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 | 5:30 p.m.
Edinboro, Pa. | McComb Fieldhouse
*Rankings reflect WBCA/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

HOW TO FOLLOW
Stats: GoFightingScots.com | Stretch Internet
Watch: GoFightingScots.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)
Edinboro Preview

COMING UP
Saturday, March 2 vs. Seton Hill, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 6 PSAC Quarterfinals, 5:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 8-ranked IUP women's basketball (22-2, 17-2 PSAC) looks to bounce back after just its second loss of the year with a tough road matchup at Edinboro (19-6, 14-5 PSAC) Wednesday. Tipoff at McComb Fieldhouse is 5:30 p.m. The Crimson Hawks suffered a second loss to rival Cal U Saturday with a 73-65 defeat. The Fighting Scots are on a late season hot streak with five consecutive victories, including an 88-69 win over Clarion Saturday. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Jr. F Lexi Griggs had a career game with 28 points on 13-14 shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals in the Crimson Hawks' loss at No. 18 Cal U. Sr. G Lauren Wolosik had 9 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. 
>> Griggs was named PSAC West co-Athlete of the Week Monday, averaging 26.0 PPG with a 83.3 FG% last week.
>> Both of IUP's losses this year have come to ranked Vulcans teams by a combined 13 points. 
>> The Crimson Hawks enter the final week of the regular season still in control of their own destiny in the PSAC West with a one-game lead over second place Cal. 
>> 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 has six PSAC West titles, including 2015 and 2018 under HC Tom McConnell.
>> The loss Saturday was IUP's first on the road this season. The Crimson Hawks are 10-1 away from their home floor with a +22.0 scoring margin and are giving up an average of 52.3 points to opponents. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are looking for their fourth regular season sweep of Edinboro in six years under McConnell. 
>> IUP won the first meeting of the season with Edinboro 97-73 on Jan. 21 at the KCAC. Wolosik scored 33 points with 10 assists and Sr. G Carolyn Appleby added 23 points. IUP shot 51.9 percent with 10 3-pointers. 
>> McConnell and the Crimson Hawks have won 9 of the last 10 meetings with Edinboro dating back to the 2014-15 season and haven't lost a game at McComb Fieldhouse since the 2014 PSAC Quarterfinals. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FIGHTING SCOTS
>> Edinboro is 19-6 overall and have a firm grasp of third in the PSAC West standings with a 14-5 league record.
>> The Fighting Scots are two games behind Cal in the standings and would need to win out and get help from Vulcans' opponents Seton Hill and Clarion to receive a first round bye in the PSAC tournament. 
>> The Fighting Scots have two wins over the Vulcans - 99-92 at home Jan. 2 and 62-61 on the road Feb. 9. 
>> Edinboro is 9-1 since falling to IUP Jan. 21 with that only loss coming to UPJ at home (73-68) Feb. 6. 
>> Edinboro debuted at No. 6 in last week's first NCAA Atlantic Region rankings. 

CRIMSON HAWKS RANKED NO. 8 IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks are No. 8 in the WBCA Coaches' Top 25, falling five spots from a week ago. 
>> They have been ranked in the top 10 all season, including 14 times in the top 5 - 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 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 last 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 14th in Division II with a scoring average of 78.3 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 6th in the country with a 48.3 FG%. They've converted at least 50 percent from the field nine times this year, including a season-high 59.3 percent against Clarion last Wednesday.
>> Four players average double-figures in scoring - Appleby 17.7, Wolosik 12.2, Robinson 11.4, Griggs 11.3.

CRIMSON HAWKS USED TO HELPING THEMSELVES
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 7th in Division II in assists per game with 18.5.
>> With 443 assists on 734 made field goals, IUP assists on 60.4 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 8 in the PSAC in assists per game. Wolosik is 8th in Division II at 6.4 APG.
>> IUP is 3rd in Division II with a 1.40 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Crimson Hawks have less than 10 turnovers three times in their last eight games and lead the PSAC with just 13.2 turnovers given up per game. 

THE IUP DEFENSE ALSO AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 6th in Division II in scoring defense, allowing 52.8 points per game. They also rank 4th in 3FG% defense (.258), 5th in FG% defense (.339), 7th in blocks (5.3 BPG) and 20th in steals (10.6 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 24 games, including 11 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 25.8 points but was held to just 10 on December 8. 

COACH MCCONNELL NEARS LANDMARK VICTORY
>> HC Tom McConnell carries a 140-36 (.795) 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 .795 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 9th in the PSAC with 17.7 PPG. She's also 8th with an 79.5 FT%, 8th with 163 made FGs, and 15th with a 43.6 FG%.
>> She's led the Crimson Hawks in scoring 15 times in 24 games.
>> Appleby has 10 20-point games this year, hitting the mark eight times against PSAC teams.
>> Appleby is averaging 18.4 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 3.05 assist-turnover ratio and 8th with 6.4 APG. She leads the PSAC in both categories. 
>> Wolosik has dished out 8 or more assists nine times this year, including five times in the last 10 games.
>> Her 122 assists this year is the 11th most in single season IUP history. Last year she set the record with 175.
>> She posted her first double-double with career-highs of 33 points and 10 assists against Edinboro on Jan. 21. That helped earn her PSAC West Athlete of the Week honors Jan. 22. 

BRITTANY ROBINSON CONTRIBUTES ON BOTH ENDS OF THE FLOOR
>> Sr. F Brittany Robinson is 3rd in IUP history with 164 career blocks, including a team-high 35 this year. 
>> She's tied for 3rd in the PSAC with 1.5 BPG while her 35 blocks are 4th. 
>> She has at least 1 block in nine straight games, posting 18 during that span. 
>> She's 3rd on the team in scoring at 11.4 PPG, including 16 double-figure scoring games.
>> Robinson leads the PSAC and ranks 14th in Division II with a 59.6 field goal percentage.
 
LEXI GRIGGS PROVING VALUABLE IN HER FIRST YEAR AS A STARTER
>> Jr. F Lexi Griggs is coming off back-to-back career games, averaging 26.0 PPG with an 83.3 FG% in games against Clarion and Cal last week. 
>> Griggs posted a career-high 24 points on 12-16 shooting in the win over Clarion, eclipsing that performance with 28 points on 13-14 shooting at Cal. 
>> She's tied with Robinson for the team-lead with 6.3 RPG. Her 151 total rebounds are 2nd. 
>> Griggs is also 4th on the team with 11.3 PPG. She has 14 double-figure scoring games. 
>> She has 3 double-doubles this season, including a 17-point, 10-rebound performance at UPJ.

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 5.8 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 3 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 39.1 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 15.3 MPG. 
>> She also leads all reserves with 4.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 12 blocks.
>> Hunter had a career-game at Millersville, scoring 16 points with 12 rebounds in 28 minutes.  
>> Sr. G Ana Hollen provides guard depth, averaging 3.7 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.