GAMEDAY CENTRAL
(4/6) IUP Crimson Hawks (19-1, 14-1 PSAC)
at Gannon Golden Knights (11-12, 7-8 PSAC)
Saturday, February 9, 2019 | 1 p.m.
Erie, Pa. | Hammermill Center (2.800)
*Rankings reflect WBCA/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

HOW TO FOLLOW
Stats: GannonSports.com | Sidearm Stats
Watch: GannonSports.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)
Gannon W. Basketball Preview

COMING UP
Wednesday, February 13 at UPJ, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 20 vs. Clarion, 5:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 4-ranked IUP women's basketball (19-1, 14-1) looks to keep its win streak alive on the road Saturday when they travel to Erie to battle Gannon (11-12, 7-8 PSAC). Tipoff at the Hammermill Center is 1 p.m. The Crimson Hawks picked up another blowout win this week at home with an 88-51 defeat of Slippery Rock. The Golden Knights saw their two-game win streak end with an 83-69 home loss to Seton Hill Wednesday night. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Jr. G Natalie Myers drained 5 3-pointers and scored a career-high 17 points, and was one of several highlights from IUP's win over SRU. R-Sr. G Lauren Wolosik had 16 points and 8 assists while all 12 players scored. 
>> The win clinched IUP's 14th straight PSAC tournament berth and at least a top-four seed in the division.
>> The IUP defense had one of its best performances of the season, limiting The Rock to 22.5 percent shooting while forcing 18 turnovers and blocking 10 shots. Sr. F Brittany Robinson had a season-high 6 swats. 
>> It was IUP's second straight 80-point performance and 10th of the season. The 88 points were the most since putting up 97 points in the win over Edinboro. 
>> The 37-point scoring margin is the fourth largest of the season for IUP.
>> IUP is the only Division II team to be ranked in the top five of each poll this season.
>> The Crimson Hawks are 8-0 on the road this year, with four of those wins coming at PSAC West opponents.
>> IUP has an average scoring margin of +26.8 on the road. The closest game came Jan. 30 at Seton Hill (72-57).
>> IUP HC Tom McConnell is 9-3 all-time against Gannon, including seven straight wins dating back to 2015-16.  
>> The Crimson Hawks are looking for their third straight regular season sweep of Gannon. IUP won the season's first matchup 66-40 at the KCAC on January 2. 
>> Robinson scored 18 points in the first meeting and IUP limited Gannon to 33.3 shooting and 27 turnovers. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
>> Gannon is 11-12 overall and in a three-way tie for 5th in the PSAC West with a 7-8 conference record. 
>> The Golden Knights are joined by UPJ and Slippery Rock in trailing 4th place Seton Hill by one game (8-7). They are two games in front of Mercyhurst (5-10) with six games left to play. 
>> GU has been a better team on the road this year with just a 5-7 record at the Hammermill Center. Their biggest home win came over Shippensburg 95-56 on December 18. 
>> Sr. C Nicole LaCava is 3rd in Division II with a 64.7 FG% (119-184). 

CRIMSON HAWKS REMAIN IN TOP 5 OF NATIONAL RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks moved up to No. 4 in the WBCA Coaches' Top 25 with a pair of wins last week.
>> They held down the No. 1 spot in the poll for three straight weeks, going 5-1 as the top-ranked team. 
>> It marked the first time in program history that IUP was No. 1 in a Division II poll.
>> 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. 6 in this week's D2SIDA Media Top 25, up four spots from last week.
>> After spending last week at No. 2, they moved back up to the top spot in the media's Atlantic Region poll gaining four of the six first place votes.

IUP IS ONE OF THE TOP SCORING TEAMS IN DIVISION II
>> The Crimson Hawks lead the PSAC and are ranked 11th in Division II with a scoring average of 80.6 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 5th in the country with a 48.4 FG%. They've converted at least 50 percent from the field eight times this year, including six times in the last nine games (50.1 FG% during that span). 
>> Four players average double-figures in scoring (Appleby 17.6, Wolosik 12.6, Robinson 11.5, Griggs 10.4) while all 13 who have seen the court average better than 2.0 points.

CRIMSON HAWKS USED TO HELPING THEMSELVES
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 4th in Division II in assists per game with 19.4. 
>> With 387 assists on 631 made field goals, IUP assists on 61.3 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 6th in Division II at 6.6 APG.
>> IUP is 2nd in Division II with a 1.50 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Crimson Hawks have less than 10 turnovers three times in their last six games (48 combined) 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 6th in Division II in scoring defense, allowing 52.2 points per game. They also rank 5th in 3FG% defense (.255) and FG% defense (.337), 10th in blocks (5.1 BPG) and 28th in steals (10.5 SPG).
>> IUP has held opponents to 50 or fewer points seven 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 20 games, including nine 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 26.4 points but was held to just 10 on December 8. 

COACH MCCONNELL NEARS LANDMARK VICTORY
>> HC Tom McConnell carries a 137-35 (.797) overall record in his sixth season at IUP.
>> He's just 5 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 .797 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 10th in the PSAC with 17.6 PPG. She's also 7th with 138 made field goals, has a 43.7 FG%, a 36.7 3FG%, and an 79.3 FT%. 
>> She's led the Crimson Hawks in scoring 12 times in 20 games.
>> Appleby has seven 20-point games hitting the mark five times in the last 13 outings. 
>> 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 5th in the country with a 3.30 assist-turnover ratio and 6th with 6.6 APG. She leads the PSAC in both categories. 
>> Since returning from injury Jan. 2 against Gannon, she's averaging 7.0 assists with just 23 turnovers in 11 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 eight times this year, including four times in the last six games.

BRITTANY ROBINSON CONTRIBUTES ON BOTH ENDS OF THE FLOOR
>> Sr. F Brittany Robinson is 3rd in IUP history with 156 career blocks, including a team-high 27 this year. 
>> Her 27 blocks and 1.4 BPG ranks 4th in the PSAC.
>> She has at least 1 block in six straight games, posting 13 during that span. 
>> She's 3rd on the team in scoring at 11.4 PPG, with three games of at least 18 points.
>> Robinson is 2nd in the PSAC and 12th in Division II with a 59.9 FG% 1007-167) this season. 
 
LEXI GRIGGS PROVING VALUABLE IN HER FIRST YEAR AS A STARTER
>> Jr. F Lexi Griggs leads the team in rebounding (6.7 RPG) and is 4th in scoring (10.4 PPG), and assists (39).
>> She also 2nd on the team with a 56.4 FG% (92-163) and 17 blocks. 
>> Griggs has three double-doubles this season, including a 17-point, 10-rebound performance at UPJ.
>> She has 12 games of 10+ points, including a recent run of three straight games where she averaged 14.7 PPG. 

NATALIE MYERS ADDS TO TALENTED STARTING GROUP IN FIRST YEAR AT IUP 
>> Jr. G Natalie Myers is averaging 7.4 PPG and is 2nd to Griggs with 6.3 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 31 3-pointers, shooting 39.2 percent. 

ANA HOLLEN HEATING UP OFF THE BENCH
>> Jr. G Ana Hollen has a season-high 11 points twice in the last five games - vs. Cal and Mercyhurst. 
>> She's 7-14 from 3-point range in that span, hitting three 3-pointers against Cal and Mercyhurst.
>> Hollen started five games during Wolosik's injury, averaging 21.4 minutes and 5.4 points per game. 

THE CRIMSON HAWKS LOVE PLAYING AT HOME
>> IUP is 11-1 and averaging 81.9 PPG playing at home this season. 
>> In six years under McConnell, the Crimson Hawks have a 75-10 (.882) 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.