GAMEDAY CENTRAL
(8/12) IUP Crimson Hawks (23-2, 18-2 PSAC)
vs. Seton Hill Griffins (17-10, 11-9 PSAC)
Saturday, March 2, 2019 | 5:30 p.m.
Indiana, Pa. | Kovalchick Complex (4,000)
*Rankings reflect WBCA/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

HOW TO FOLLOW
Stats: IUPAthletics.com | Statbroadcast
Watch: IUPathletics.com/watch | IUP-TV
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)
Seton Hill W. Basketball Home Page

COMING UP
Wednesday, March 6 PSAC Quarterfinals, 5:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 8-ranked IUP women's basketball (23-2, 18-2 PSAC) looks to end their regular season on a high note as they host Seton Hill (17-10, 11-9 PSAC) Saturday on Senior Night. The Crimson Hawks clinched their second straight PSAC West regular season title with Wednesday's 88-60 win at Edinboro. The Griffins have won two straight entering the weekend, including their upset 73-60 win over No. 17 Cal U this week. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Six different players scored in double-figures, led by 15 points from Sr. G Lauren Wolosik in Wednesday's win. IUP drained 12 3-pointers and shot 55.7 percent from the field.
>> It was the sixth time this year IUP made double-figure treys and the most since 14 at SRU on Jan. 12. 
>> The Crimson Hawks will honor their five seniors Saturday before tipoff - Carolyn Appleby, Ana Hollen, Kendall Hunter, Brittany Robinson and Lauren Wolosik.
>> The group has helped IUP to its most successful 4-year run with a 98-22 overall record, on the verge of a fourth NCAA tournament appearance, two regular season division titles, a PSAC tournament championship, and appearance in last year's national semifinals.
>> The Crimson Hawks have won the PSAC West seven times, including three times in the last five seasons under HC Tom McConnell. IUP also won it in 2015 and 2018. 
>> IUP is 12-1 at home this year and is outscoring opponents by +28.5 points per game. Since falling to Cal U 61-56 on Jan. 23, the Crimson Hawks are 3-0 and average 82.7 points at the KCAC. 
>> McConnell is 10-2 lifetime against Seton Hill including a 6-0 mark at home.
>> McConnell and the Crimson Hawks are looking for their third straight regular season sweep of Seton Hill. IUP won the season's first matchup 72-57 in Greensburg Jan. 30, forcing the Griffins into 26 turnovers.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GRIFFINS
>> Seton Hill is 17-10 overall and locked into the fourth seed in the PSAC West standings with at 11-9 in the league.
>> The Griffins clinched the fourth seed after Wednesday's win over Cal U. It's the program's sixth straight PSAC tournament berth since joining the league before the 2013-14 season.
>> Seton Hill is 8-6 away from home this year, including an 8-5 mark in true road games. The Griffins have lost back-to-back games on the road, both by 88-66 scores - Feb. 16 at Mercyhurst and Feb. 6 at Gannon.
>> The Griffins are 3rd in the PSAC in scoring at 77.8 PPG, but are 16th by allowing 73.3 points on defense.

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 AT NO. 4 IN NCAA ATLANTIC REGION RANKINGS
>> The NCAA released its second set of Division II regional rankings Wednesday with the Crimson Hawks falling back three spots to No. 4 in the Atlantic. IUP debuted at No. 1 last week. 
>> These rankings determine selection and seeding to the 2019 NCAA Division II Championships in March. 
>> The rankings will have one more in-season update 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 78.7 PPG.
>> They have scored 80 points 11 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 48.5 FG%. They've converted at least 50 percent from the field 10 times this year, including a season-high 59.3 percent against Clarion.
>> Four players average double-figures in scoring - Appleby 17.5, Wolosik 12.4, Robinson 11.4, Griggs 11.3.

CRIMSON HAWKS USED TO HELPING THEMSELVES
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 5th in Division II in assists per game with 18.6.
>> With 466 assists on 768 made field goals, IUP assists on 60.7 percent of its made buckets. 
>> The Crimson Hawks have 10 games of 20-plus assists, including 23 at Edinboro Wednesday and a season-high 27 in the opener against 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 10th in Division II at 6.4 APG.
>> IUP is 4th in Division II with a 1.40 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Crimson Hawks have less than 10 turnovers three times in their last nine games and lead the PSAC with just 13.3 turnovers given up per game. 

THE IUP DEFENSE ALSO AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 8th in Division II in scoring defense, allowing 53.0 points per game. They also rank 4th in 3FG% defense (.258), 5th in FG% defense (.338), 6th in blocks (5.3 BPG) and 19th 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 25 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 25.7 points but was held to just 10 on December 8. 

COACH MCCONNELL NEARS LANDMARK VICTORY
>> HC Tom McConnell is tied for the most victories in program history with a 141-36 (.797) record in just his sixth season at IUP.
>> With his next win he'll surpass Jan Kiger for most in program history. 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 9th in the PSAC with 17.5 PPG. She's also 8th with an 80.0 FT%, 8th with 168 made FGs, and 14th with a 43.8 FG%.
>> She's led the Crimson Hawks in scoring 15 times in 25 games.
>> Appleby has 10 20-point games this year, hitting the mark eight times against PSAC teams.
>> Appleby is averaging 18.2 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 3rd in the country with a 3.0s assist-turnover ratio and 10 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 11 games.
>> Her 127 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 166 career blocks, including a team-high 37 this year. 
>> She's tied for 3rd in the PSAC with 1.5 BPG while her 37 blocks are 4th. 
>> She has at least 1 block in 10 straight games, posting 23 during that span. 
>> She's 3rd on the team in scoring at 11.5 PPG, including 17 double-figure scoring games.
>> Robinson leads the PSAC and ranks 10th in Division II with a 59.5 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 second on the team with 6.2 RPG and 156 total rebounds. 
>> Griggs is also 4th on the team with 11.2 PPG. She has 15 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 7.3 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 39 3-pointers, shooting 39.8 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 15.2 MPG. 
>> She also leads all reserves with 4.2 PPG, 3.2 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 3.6 PPG with 20 3FGs and 29 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.