INDIANA, Pa. – IUP women's basketball, now seventh in the D2SIDA poll, returns to the floor for a PSAC crossover matchup at Millersville on Friday, December 30. Tipoff from Pucillo Gymnasium is slated for 3:00 p.m.
IUP (9-0, 4-0) found a way to stay unbeaten with two hard-fought crossover victories before the holiday break. The Crimson Hawks relied heavily on the starting five en route to a 61-57 victory against Kutztown and a 73-63 triumph against West Chester. Both contests saw a big second half performance from the Crimson Hawks.
Millersville (6-4, 1-3) dropped both of its crossover matchups on December 18-19, returning home for the first time since December 14. The Marauders fell, 70-59, to Clarion before dropping a 60-54 contest to Pitt-Johnstown the following day.
GAME INFORMATION – MILLERSVILLE
AROUND THE LEAGUE
- PSAC Composite Schedule: Here
- 2022-23 Stats: Here
- 2022-23 Standings: Here
TIPOFF NOTES
- IUP matched last season's unbeaten start at 9-0 following a pair PSAC crossover victories against Kutztown and West Chester. The Hawks trailed for over 27 minutes against the Golden Bears and around 16 minutes against the Golden Rams, bouncing back with key stretches in the second half to stay undefeated.
- The Crimson Hawks are the lone team in the PSAC with an unbeaten overall and conference record. Nationally, the Crimson Hawks are one of just eight remaining undefeated teams in Division II.
- IUP has won five of its last six meetings with Millersville dating back to the 2013-14 season. The only loss during that span was an 89-86 triple OT defeat in the 2018 PSAC Championship game at the Kovalchick Complex.
- Friday marks a matchup between two of the top rebounding teams in the PSAC, both ranking among the top 25 teams nationally in rebounding margin.
- The IUP guard duo of Kiera Baughman (15.3 ppg, 3.4 ast, 2.8 stl) and Maria Cerro (14.2 ppg, 4.1 ast, 2.1 stl) account for nearly 40% of IUP's scoring this season, also combining for 68 of the team's 127 assists. Both rank among the top 15 in the PSAC in scoring.
- Gina Adams was one of several consistent performers for IUP in the consecutive victories, averaging 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds for the Hawks. She recorded 19 points (4-9 3FG), five rebounds, two assists and a steal against West Chester.
- Friday is anticipated to be the IUP debut contest for a pair of mid-year transfer guards from Robert Morris. Jazmyne DeShields and Janeira Scott join the IUP program following the conclusion of the fall semester.
- Alana Cardona played well on both ends of the floor for IUP prior to the holiday break, nearly averaging a double-double with 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.
- IUP began PSAC crossover action with wins against Mansfield (December 2) and Bloomsburg (December 3) in early December, later moving to 4-0 in the league with victories against West Chester and Kutztown.
- IUP has won 12 consecutive regular season contests, dating back to the end of 2021-22.
SCOUTING MILLERSVILLE
- Millersville sputtered into the holiday break with PSAC crossover losses to Clarion and Pitt-Johnstown.
- Millersville led by nine points entering the fourth quarter against UPJ, but allo2.3 steals and 1.6 assists. wed 29 points over the final 10 minutes for a tough road setback. Taylor Langan led all players in points, scoring 22 for Millersville.
- Langan is the only Millersville player to average double figures, but one of five posting 7.5 points/game or better. Brenna Ortwein is a consistent presence, logging averages of 7.5 points, 5.1 rebounds,
- The Marauders lead the PSAC in rebounding margin (9.5) and rank second in the league in steals/game (11.4)
- Sharay Hall, a Philadelphia native, is in her second season as the Millersville head coach. She was an All-PSAC East selection as a player at Lock Haven, later gaining coaching experience at all three NCAA divisions.
IUP IN THE POLLS
- Despite the unbeaten record, IUP is still not listed in the WBCA Top 25.
- The Hawks have risen to seventh nationally in the D2SIDA rankings, also holding down the top spot in the Atlantic Region Poll.
- The Hawks get ready for the start of PSAC West play atop the division standings, picked fourth in the league's preseason poll.
IUP DEFENSE HAS BEEN LOCKDOWN
- While facing some poor-shooting opponents, IUP has been aggressive on the defensive end of the floor, ranking top 15 nationally in field goal percentage defense (.341) and scoring defense (55.1).
- IUP ranks second in the PSAC in scoring defense, only trailing Gannon (55.1).
- The Hawks have held opponents to single digits in a quarter four times, with three coming in a blowout win against Rosemont.
- The Hawks are also averaging 9.9 steals per contest and forcing 19.6 turnovers per game.
- The Crimson Hawks have held eight opponents under 70 points and four under 60.
ANOTHER UNBEATEN START FOR HAWKS
- IUP went 5-0 in the nonconference slate, marking the fourth unbeaten non-league start to the season over the last five years.
- IUP began the year with a program record 16 consecutive victories at the onset of the 1999-2000 season. More recently, IUP opened the season at 15-0 in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
- The Hawks matched last year's 9-0 start to the season, looking to improve on that mark on Friday with a 10th consecutive victory.
CAREY ADDS DEPTH WITH TWO DI TRANSFERS
- IUP has received almost all of the team's minutes from the starting five over the last several weeks. Hoping to add some additional depth to the roster, interim head coach Craig Carey welcomed a pair of mid-year Division I transfers to the lineup.
- Joining the program from Robert Morris, guards Jazmyne DeShields and Janeira Scott arrived in Indiana upon the conclusion of the fall semester.
- DeShields played in 12 games at Robert Morris in 2021-22, previously breaking the North Stafford High School single-season assist and three-point record as a sophomore.
- Scott was part of four consecutive Division 2 championships during her high school career as an All-State Second Team honoree.
CARDONA CONTINUES HITTING HER STRIDE
- Gaining valuable minutes throughout her career off the bench, Alana Cardona has stepped into the starting lineup and has emerged as a driving force for the Hawks on both sides of the ball.
- Cardona is third on the team in scoring (13.1) and second in rebounding (8.1), all while shooting 48.3% from the floor. She is averaging 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds over the last six games, logging double figure scoring in each of those outings, while adding nine steals.
- Cardona pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds, adding 10 points while playing all 40 minutes against West Chester.
- She enjoyed a career night with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds against Ohio Dominican on November 23. It marked the first 20-point outing of Cardona's career, who has started all nine games this season.
- She was named PSAC West Athlete of the Week on December 6, her first weekly honor from the league. Cardona has logged two double-doubles over the past three outings, playing 39 of 40 minutes last time out against Bloomsburg.
BAUGHMAN PROVING PRODUCTIVE IN ALL AREAS
- Kiera Baughman continues to step up as a second-year contributor for the Hawks. She dropped in a career-high 24 points against Bloomsburg on December 3.
- Baughman leads the team in scoring average (15.3), ranks seventh in the PSAC in assists/game (4.1) and third in steals/game (2.78).
- Baughman recorded her second 20-point scoring outing of the season against West Chester on December 19, going 7-of-15 from the floor while adding three assists and three steals in 35 minutes.
- Making 11 starts last season in her collegiate debut, Baughman has taken the next step in her development this season. She collected 28 steals in 30 games last year and has 25 through nine games in 2022-23.
- A consistent shooter in all areas, Baughman is also 47-for-52 (.904) at the foul line. She ranks second in the PSAC in free throw percentage, behind Millersville's Marin Miller (.926).
PRESTON LEADING THE CHARGE ON THE BOARDS
- With one of the top rebounders in the region, Teirra Preston has helped the Crimson Hawks become a stout rebounding squad once again in 2022-23, ranking first in the PSAC in rebounds/game.
- Preston leads the PSAC in rebounding average (10.3), grabbing 10 or more in four outings. Preston grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds last time out against West Chester, tied for second most among PSAC players this season.
- Preston is one of just 25 women's basketball players across NCAA DII averaging at least 10.0 rebounds per contest.
- The Hawks are ninth in the nation in defensive rebounds/game (30.6) and second in the PSAC with a +8.8 rebounding margin, tying into the strong defensive effort.
- Last season, IUP finished the campaign leading the PSAC and ranking 14th nationally with a rebounding margin of +8.0.
CERRO CONTINUES IMPROVING
- Maria Cerro has jumped to second on the team in scoring average (14.2) as a speedy guard.
- Cerro ranks seventh in the PSAC in FG percentage at 47.6%.
- She is first on the team with an average of 34.7 minutes as part of the IUP starting lineup, playing 36 minutes or more in each game aside from the blowout win against Rosemont.
- Cerro has posted double figures in eight of nine contests this season.
- Cerro is eighth in the PSAC with 2.11 steals/game, averaging 2.6 steals over the last five games.
- Cerro dropped in 14 points and handed out nine assists in a victory against Mansfield on December 2nd. She continues her torrid offensive stretch with 20 points (7-11 FG) with four rebounds and seven assists in a victory against Goldey-Beacom.
ROAD WARRIORS
- Part of IUP's fantastic stretch over the last few seasons is the team's ability to win on the road in one of the toughest conferences in the nation.
- Since 2016-17, IUP boasts a 54-10 (.843) record in road games.
- IUP went a combined 24-2 in road contests spanning the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons prior to the pandemic.
DECADE OF DOMINANCE IN INDIANA
- From 2010-2020, IUP led the PSAC with 241 overall wins and 165 conference wins.
- IUP won four PSAC west regular season titles, two PSAC tournament championships, also making four PSAC title game appearances with 10 PSAC tournament berths during that span.
- The Crimson Hawks have seen NCAA excellence in the 2010s with eight NCAA tournament berths, two Atlantic region titles, two national semifinal game appearances, earning the top seed in the Atlantic Region in 2019-20.
- The Hawks' .793-win percentage marked the eighth best in Division II during that span.
