GAMEDAY CENTRAL
(A3) IUP Crimson Hawks (26-3, 18-3 PSAC)
vs. (A6) Bowie State Bulldogs (22-5, 14-3 CIAA)
Friday, March 15, 2019 | 12 p.m.
Glenville, W.Va.. | Waco Center (3,000)

HOW TO FOLLOW
Stats: GSCPioneers.com | Sidearm Stats
Watch: GSCPioneers.com | Team1Sports
Radio: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com
Audio App: U92.5 Sports App (Android & iPhone)
Social Media: Twitter | @IUP_WBB

GAME PREVIEWS/HOST INFORMATION
IUP Game Notes (PDF)
Bowie State Preview
Glenville State Host Page
NCAA.com Preview

COMING UP
Saturday, March 16 NCAA Atlantic Region semifinals, 5 p.m. (with win)
Monday, March 18, NCAA Atlantic Region championship, 7 p.m. (with win)

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
Third-seeded IUP women's basketball (26-3, 18-3 PSAC) opens NCAA tournament play when they take on sixth-seed Bowie State (22-5, 14-3 CIAA) Friday afternoon in the first round of the Division II Atlantic Region Championships in Glenville, W.Va. Tipoff at the Waco Center is set for noon. The game is the first of the tournament with the winners advancing to Saturday's semifinals to face the Virginia Union-Edinboro winner. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> IUP is making its 13th NCAA tournament appearance and has a 12-12 all-time record.
>> This is the fifth straight NCAA appearance under HC Tom McConnell, a program record. McConnell has led the Crimson Hawks to a 5-4 record in the tournament, including a 4-1 run and trip to the national semifinals last year.
>> This will be IUP's first trip to Glenville for the NCAA tournament since the East Region Championships in 2007. That year IUP defeated Barton and Pitt-Johnstown before falling to the host Pioneers in the title game.
>> The Crimson Hawks are 7-5 in NCAA tournament openers, including 2-2 under McConnell.
>> McConnell is IUP's all-time leader in wins (144), NCAA tournament appearances (5) and tournament wins (5).
>> This game is a rematch of last year's Atlantic Region Championship won by the Crimson Hawks 75-60 at Virginia Union's Barco-Stevens Hall. It's the only previous NCAA tournament game between these two teams.
>> This is IUP's second neutral site game of the season. The Crimson Hawks are 13-1 away from home.
>> IUP is outscoring opponents an average of +22.4 away from home giving up just 53.5 points per game.
>> This year marked IUP's seventh PSAC West regular season title, including its second straight and third in the last five seasons under McConnell. 
>> McConnell is 5-1 lifetime against Bowie State, including IUP's three-game sweep last season. 
>> IUP has an average scoring margin of +12.4 in those six games, incuding wins of 15, 16, 39 and 11 points. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
>> Bowie State enters the NCAA tournament with a 22-5 overall record and has the six seed in the Atlantic Region.
>> The Bulldogs finished 2nd in the CIAA Northern Division with a 14-3 conference record.
>> They were upset by Elizabeth City State (17-16) 59-56 in their opening CIAA tournament game. 
>> Bowie State leads Division II in scoring defense (48.5) and 10th in turnovers forced (22.6) per game.
>> The Bulldogs share four common opponents with IUP, defeating Shippensburg (60-52), Gannon (59-46) and Slippery Rock (71-53) and losing to East Stroudsburg (74-67).

CRIMSON HAWKS' SIX PSAC TITLES TIED FOR MOST IN LEAGUE HISTORY
>> IUP won the program's sixth all-time PSAC Championship with a 72-57 win at Kutztown Sunday.
>> IUP is now tied with Cal U and Shippensburg for the most conference tournament titles in PSAC history.
>> It was the second conference championship in the last three years for the Crimson Hawks.
>> Sr. G Carolyn Appleby was named PSAC Tournament MVP after averaging 19.5 points with a 65.0 FG%.

IUP MAKING IT'S FIFTH STRAIGHT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE
>> The Crimson Hawks clinched an automatic NCAA tournament berth with its PSAC title.
>> It's the 13th NCAA tournament in program history, 10th in the last 13 years, and fifth straight.
>> IUP is 12-12 all-time in NCAA tournament games with regional titles in 1999 (East) and 2018 (Atlantic).
>> The Crimson Hawks advanced to the program's first national semifinal game a season ago. 

IUP IS ONE OF THE TOP SCORING TEAMS IN DIVISION II
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC and are ranked 19th in Division II with a scoring average of 77.6 PPG.
>> That scoring average is the highest in the six-year Tom McConnell era.
>> They have scored 80 points 12 times and 90 or more points five times, including two 100-point outings.
>> 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 48.6 FG%. They've converted at least 50 percent from the field 12 times this year, including a season-high 61.7 pct. in the PSAC semifinal win over Bloomsburg.
>> Four players average double-figures in scoring - Appleby 17.9, Wolosik 12.3, Robinson 12.0, Griggs 10.6.

CRIMSON HAWKS USED TO HELPING THEMSELVES
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 5th in Division II in assists per game with 18.3.
>> With 531 assists on 877 made field goals, IUP assists on 60.5 percent of its made buckets. 
>> The Crimson Hawks have 11 games of 20-plus assists, including 26 in the PSAC semifinals against Bloomsburg 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 7 in the PSAC in assists per game. Wolosik is 9th in Division II at 6.3 APG.
>> IUP is 4th in Division II with a 1.39 assist-to-turnover ratio and 20th by giving up just 13.2 turnovers 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 53.9 points per game. They also rank 5th in FG% defense (.343), 7th in blocks (5.1 BPG), 12th in 3FG% defense (.269), and 19th 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 29 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 25.6 points but was held to just 10 on December 8. 

COACH MCCONNELL IS IUP WIN LEADER, NAMED PSAC WEST COACH OF THE YEAR
>> With IUP's PSAC quarterfinal win over Seton Hill, HC Tom McConnell became the program's all-time winningest coach with 142 wins in just six seasons. 
>> McConnell surpassed Jan Kiger, who was 141-121 (.538) from 1986-96.
>> He was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
>> 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 is averaging 24.0 wins in his six seasons at IUP with five straight 20-win campaigns. The 30 wins last year set a program record and he has three of the eight seasons in school history. 

APPLEBY, WOLOSIK AND ROBINSON EARN ALL-PSAC WEST HONORS
>> Sr. G Carolyn Appleby, Sr. G Lauren Wolosik and Sr. F Brittany Robinson earned All-PSAC West honors as the conference announced its postseason awards Thursday.
>> Appleby and Wolosik landed on the first team while Robinson was a second team selection.
>> It was Appleby's second straight first team honor, and third overall. Wolosik was a second team selection last year while Robinson earned her first career postseason award. 

CAROLYN APPLEBY NAMED ALL-ATLANTIC REGION, IS IUP'S TOP SCORING THREAT
>> On Thursday Appleby was named 2nd team All-Atlantic Region. It's her first career regional honor.
>> She ranks 8th in the PSAC with 17.9 PPG. She's also 5th with 197 made FGs, 9th with an 79.4 FT%, and 11th with a 45.0 FG%.
>> She's led the Crimson Hawks in scoring 17 times in 29 games and has 12 20-point performances. 
>> Her 518 points is 8th in IUP single season history. She's 4 points from last year's tally of 522 and 50 shy of putting up one of the top five scoring seasons in program history.

APPLEBY PERFORMS WELL IN CRUNCH TIME
>> Appleby is averaging 17.3 points in 19 career postseason (PSAC & NCAA) games.
>> She scored a season-high 28 points in the PSAC quarterfinal win over Seton Hill and had 26 points in the conference championship win over Kutztown. 
>> She scored a career-high 30 points in the 2017 PSAC Championship game win over Cal U
>> Appleby is a two-time PSAC Tournament MVP (2019, 2017), was the 2018 Atlantic Region Tournament MVP and was named to the 2018 Elite Eight All-Tournament Team.  

LAUREN WOLOSIK IS IUP ALL-TIME ASSIST LEADER
>> Wolosik became IUP's all-time assist leader (500) during the PSAC semifinal win over Bloomsburg. She finished with a season-high 11 assists in the game.
>> Wolosik is one of the top distributors in Division II, ranking 9th in the country with 6.3 assists per game and 12th with a 2.59 assist-turnover ratio. 
>> Wolosik has dished out 8 or more assists 10 times this year, including six times in the last 15 games.
>> Her 150 assists this year is the 4th 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
>> Robinson is 3rd in IUP history with 174 career blocks, including a team-high 45 this year. 
>> She's 3rd in the PSAC with 1.6 BPG while her 45 blocks are 4th. 
>> She has at least 1 block in 15 straight games, posting 31 during that span. 
>> She's 3rd on the team in scoring at 12.0 PPG, scoring a career-high 23 in the PSAC semifinal win over Bloom.
>> Robinson leads the PSAC and ranks 15th in Division II with a 56.7 field goal percentage.
 
LEXI GRIGGS PROVING VALUABLE IN HER FIRST YEAR AS A STARTER
>> Jr. F Lexi Griggs has flashed big game potential this year, putting together back-to-back career games to earn PSAC West Athlete of the Week honors Feb. 25.
>> 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 3rd on the team with 5.5 RPG and 159 total rebounds. 
>> Griggs is also 4th on the team with 10.6 PPG. She has 16 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 7.2 PPG and is 2nd on the team in rebounding at 5.8 RPG. 
>> She's shown sharpshooter ability with a career-high 17 points and 5 3-pointers 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 45 3-pointers with 12 games of 2+ treys.