GAMEDAY CENTRAL
(3) IUP Crimson Hawks (29-3, 18-3 PSAC)
vs. (6) Azusa Pacific Cougars (28-5, 21-1 PacWest)
Tuesday, March 26, 2019 | 12 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio | Alumni Hall (2,000)

HOW TO FOLLOW
Stats: NCAA.com | NCAA Game Center
Watch: NCAA.com | NCAA Live
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)
Azusa Pacific Preview (coming soon)
Elite Eight Fan Information (IUPAthletics.com)
NCAA.com DII Women's Basketball
Pre-tournament press conference

COMING UP
National semifinals, March 27 vs. SW Oklahoma/Saint Anselm
*Dependent on victory in previous round

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
Third-seed IUP women's basketball (29-3, 18-3 PSAC) open up the 2019 NCAA Division II Elite Eight with a national quarterfinal matchup against Azusa Pacific (28-5, 21-1 PacWest) in Columbus, Ohio. Tipoff at Ohio Dominican's Alumni Hall is noon on Tuesday. The Crimson Hawks advanced to the Elite Eight with a 68-60 win over rival Cal U in the Atlantic Region Championship. The Cougars won the West Region by defeating Alaska Anchorage 65-63 on a buzzer beater. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Sr. F Brittany Robinson was named the Atlantic Region Tournament MVP by averaging 13.0 PPG and 10.3 RPG with two double-doubles and a 64.0 FG% in three games. 
>> Sr. G Carolyn Appleby was named to the Atlantic Region All-Tournament Team by averaging 19.3 PPG including 24 points in the title game against Cal U.
>> IUP is making the program's second straight - and third ever - Elite Eight appearance. The Crimson Hawks advaned to the national semifinals a year ago and also advanced to the Elite Eight in 1999.
>> IUP is making its 13th NCAA tournament appearance with 15-12 record, including 7-1 the last two seasons.
>> This is the fifth straight NCAA appearance under HC Tom McConnell, a program record. McConnell has the most NCAA tournament appearances (five), tournament wins (eight) and regional titles (two) in program history.
>> IUP is in the midst of its best two-year run in program history. The Crimson Hawks are 59-7 (.894) with two regional titles, a PSAC tournament championship, and a school record 30 wins a year ago. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are 16-1 away from home this season, including 4-0 in neutral site games.
>> IUP is 7-1 in their last eight NCAA tournament games with three wins of 15+ points and four wins of 8 or less.
>> This is the first ever meeting between these two schools.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE COUGARS
>> Azusa Pacific enters the Elite Eight as the sixth seed with a 28-5 overall record.
>> The Cougars won the West Region on a buzzer beater in a 65-63 win over Alaska Anchorage. 
>> They fell to Hawai'i Pacific 75-68 in the PacWest tournament championship game.
>> After starting the year 3-3, Azusa Pacific won 14 straight games and finished with a 21-1 league record.
>> The Cougars scored 80 points 11 times during their 14-game win streak, breaking 90 three times. 
>> The Cougars lead Division II with 6.7 blocks per game. Laura Pranger is 7th with 3.45 per game. 

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.
>> 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 15-12 all-time in NCAA tournament games with regional titles in 1999 (East), 2018 and 2019 (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 3rd in the PSAC and are ranked 25th in Division II with a scoring average of 76.6 PPG.
>> That scoring average is the 2nd 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 48.5 FG%. They've converted at least 50 percent from the field 13 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 18.0, Robinson 12.1, Wolosik 12.0, Griggs 10.8.

CRIMSON HAWKS USED TO HELPING THEMSELVES
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 5th in Division II in assists per game with 18.0.
>> With 576 assists on 949 made field goals, IUP assists on 60.9 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 6 in the PSAC in assists per game. Wolosik is 11th in Division II at 6.1 APG.
>> IUP is 5th in Division II with a 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio and 20th by giving up just 13.3 turnovers per game. 

THE IUP DEFENSE ALSO AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 9th in Division II in scoring defense, allowing 54.4 points per game. They also rank 7th in FG% defense (.344), 9th in 3FG% defense (.264), 17th in blocks (4.8 BPG) and 29th in steals (10.2 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 15 turnovers in 25 of 32 games, including 11 games of 20-plus. 
>> IUP 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 WINS 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. He takes a 147-37 (.798) record into the Elite Eight.
>> 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 .798 win percentage is 1st in program history, ahead of Cindy Martin's .753 from 2005-08.
>> He is averaging 24.5 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 four of the eight best 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
>> Appleby was named 2nd team All-Atlantic Region. It's her first career regional honor.
>> She ranks 8th in the PSAC with 18.0 PPG. She's also 3rd with 217 made FGs, 11th with an 77.6 FT%, and 12th with a 43.8 FG% despite her 5-5 height.
>> She's led the Crimson Hawks in scoring 20 times in 32 games and has 13 20-point performances. 
>> Her 576 points is 5th in IUP single season history. She's 50 points shy of eclipsing the progrm record of 625 set by Megan Smith during last year's national semifinalist season.

APPLEBY PERFORMS WELL IN CRUNCH TIME
>> Appleby is averaging 17.6 points in 22 career postseason (PSAC & NCAA) games.
>> In six games this postseason she's averaging 20.8 PPG with a 45.3 FG%.
>> She scored a season-high 28 points in the PSAC quarterfinal win over Seton Hill, had 26 points in the conference championship win over Kutztown, and 24 in the regional title win over Cal U.
>> 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 2019 Atlantic Region All-Tournament and 2018 Elite Eight All-Tournament Teams.

LAUREN WOLOSIK IS IUP ALL-TIME ASSIST LEADER
>> Wolosik became IUP's all-time assist leader (520) 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 11th in the country with 6.1 assists per game and 9th with a 2.62 assist-turnover ratio. 
>> Wolosik has dished out 8 or more assists 10 times this year..
>> Her 165 assists this year is the 3rd 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 2nd in IUP history with 181 career blocks, including a team-high 52 this year. 
>> She's 3rd in the PSAC with 1.7 BPG and 52 blocks.
>> She has at least 1 block in 16 straight games (36 blocks) headed into the regional semifinal game.
>> She's 2nd on the team in scoring at 12.1 PPG, scoring a career-high 23 in the PSAC semifinal win over Bloom.
>> Robinson leads the PSAC and ranks 14th in Division II with a 57.3 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 5.4 RPG and 172 total rebounds. 
>> Griggs is also 4th on the team with 10.8 PPG. She has 19 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 7.4 PPG and is 2nd on the team in rebounding at 5.6 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 53 3-pointers with 14 games of 2+ treys.