INDIANA, Pa. - The fourth-seeded IUP women's basketball team (21-7, 15-7 PSAC) opens PSAC tournament play Monday night as they host fifth-seeded Edinboro (13-11, 11-10 PSAC) at the KCAC. Tipoff is 7 p.m. The Crimson Hawks enter the postseason with a 3-game win streak and are coming off a 58-37 win over Pitt-Johnston on Saturday. The Fighting Scots dropped their regular season finale, losing to Seton Hill 72-60 at home. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> IUP is making its 24th all-time PSAC tournament appearance, including 16 straight dating back to 2006.
>> The 16 straight appearances is the second longest active streak in the conference (Cal U, 21).
>> The Crimson Hawks are 32-17 (.653) in the PSAC tournament, including 2-0 in the first round. IUP last played a PSAC first round game in 2014, HC Tom McConnell's first season, defeating UPJ 79-56 at home.
>> The Hawks are looking for the program's seventh PSAC Championship and third under McConnell in the last five seasons. A seventh title would be the most in league history.
>> IUP enters the PSAC tournament sitting at No. 6 in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings. 
>> The Hawks posted their seventh straight 20-win season under McConnell. The program has 14 20-win campaigns in its history with no other coach posting more than three. 
>> IUP and Edinboro split the regular season series, each winning on its home court. The Hawks had a combined -15 turnover margin but outshot Edinboro .495-.376 and outrebounded the Scots by +4.0 per game. 
>> McConnell is 13-5 against Edinboro including four straight wins at home with a +13.8 scoring margin.
>> IUP is 13-3 (.813) at home this year and 96-12 (.889) over the last seven seasons under McConnell. 
> This year IUP has a +18.1 scoring margin at the KCAC and is limiting opponents to a 31.5 FG%. 
>> The Hawks are 54-11 in February and March over the last five seasons, including 26-4 at home and 28-7 away from Indiana. IUP won PSAC titles on the road in 2017 and 2019 and back-to-back regional titles in VA and WV. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FIGHTING SCOTS
>> Edinboro is 13-11 overall and earned the No. 5 seed in the PSAC West with a 11-10 league record.
>> The Fighting Scots are making their 11th straight PSAC tournament appearance.
>> EU is 1-2 since defeating IUP at home on Feb. 16, defeating SRU and falling to Mercyhurst and Seton Hill.
>> Boro is 3-8 on the road with a -10.7 scoring margin.

16 STRAIGHT PSAC TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
>> IUP clinched the program's 16th straight PSAC tournament berth after the Slippery Rock win on Feb. 14. 
>> It's the second longest active streak in the PSAC behind Cal U's 21 straight. 
>> IUP HC Tom McConnell has a 13-5 record in the PSAC tournament including titles in 2017 and 2019.
>> IUP's 6 conference championships are tied with Cal U and Shippensburg for the most in PSAC history.

HAWKS WERE NO. 6 IN LATEST SEED RELEASE
>> IUP sits at No. 6 in the latest Atlantic Region seed reveal by the NCAA Selection Committee.
>> The NCAA will reveal one final ranking prior to the announcement of the field of 64 on Sunday, March 6. 
>> IUP is looking to clinch its 7th NCAA tournament appearance since 2015. 

IUP IN THE POLLS
>> The Crimson Hawks enter the postseason not ranked in either poll for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
>> IUP had been ranked for 10 straight weeks during the regular season.
>> IUP's highest ranks this season were No. 8 by the coaches and No. 6 by the media. 
>> The Hawks have been ranked in the top-25 of either poll for 61 of the last 67 weeks they have been eligible dating back to the 2017-18 preseason. 
>> IUP has been ranked in the top-10 in 45 of those possible 67 polls. 

THE HAWKS HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
>> IUP is 13-3 at home this season, including 5-0 in non-conference play at 8-3 against PSAC teams.
>> The Hawks have a +18.1 scoring margin at home this season, with seven wins coming by at least 20 points.
>> IUP had a 66-point win over Mount Aloysius (101-35) and a 51-point win over Clarion (92-41). 
>> IUP is 96-12 (.889) at home over the last seven seasons, including 26-4 (.867) in February and March. 

EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES
>> 10 players on the roster have played in 22 of the 28 games while all 15 have played multiple contests.
>> Three Hawks average double-figures while five averaging 6.5 PPG for for the PSAC's 2nd-ranked scoring offense. 
>> Seven players have led IUP in scoring this season.
>> Eight players have scored in double-figures at least once this season.

IUP DEFENSE HAS BEEN KEY
>> The Crimson Hawks are 3rd in the PSAC and rank 17th in Division II with 55.2 points allowed this season.
>> They have held opponents to 60 or fewer points 18 times in 28 games, including four times under 40. 
>> Opponents are scoring just 44.0 points with a 29.9 FG% and a 27.4 3FG% against IUP over the last three games.
>> IUP gave up a season-low 35 points to Mount Aloysius on Nov. 17. The Hawks also allowed 37 points to UPJ, 38 to Livingstone, 40 to Millersville and 41 to Clarion.
>> The Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC and rank 18th in Division II in defensive field goal percentage (.349). 
>> IUP has held opponents under 40.0 pct. shooting 11 times in the last 13 games. 
>> Seven times IUP has forced an opponent to shoot less than 30 percent, with UDC shooting a season-low 24.4 pct. on Nov. 21. 
>> The Hawks are 11th in the PSAC with 7.7 steals per game. They've had double-digit steals seven times, including a season-high 18 against Mount Aloysius. 

WINNING THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
>> The Hawks lead the PSAC and rank 16th in Division II with +8.2 rebound margin.
>> They've won the battle of the boards 22 times in their 28 games, including 16 times in 22 PSAC games.
>> They are 19-3 when winning the rebound battle.
>> IUP's 39.2 rebounds per game is 4th in the PSAC.
>> Seven players have led IUP in rebounding this year.

ALWAYS LOOKING TO HELP
>> IUP is 2nd in the PSAC with 14.9 assists per game.
>> IUP has assisted on 56.8 pct of its 732 made buckets.
>> The Hawks have dished out double-digit assists in 26 of 28 games this year, including five games of 20+.
>> They tallied a season-high 25 assists against Mount Aloysius and 23 against Clarion.
>> 10 players have double-digit assists, including five with 52 or more helpers.

KNOCKING THEM DOWN
>> IUP is 1st in the PSAC and 15th in Division II in field goal percentage at 45.2 pct. 
>> The Hawks have knocked down half their shots in a game five times, including a season-best 54.7 pct. (35-64) against Clarion.
>> IUP is 20-4 this year when shooting better from the field than its opponent. 1-3 when shooting worse.
>> Sr. G Justina Mascaro leads the team with a 54.8 FG%.

FROM WAY DOWN TOWN
>> The Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC with a 32.5 3FG%.
>> IUP's 6.2 made 3FGs per game is 5th in the PSAC.
>> IUP is coming off its best two back-to-back performances from deep this year, hitting 12-24 against Clarion and 8-19 against UPJ.  
>> IUP also made 12-34 3FGs against Shippensburg. 
>> Despite missing six games, Sr. G Courtney Alexander still leads IUP with 61 made 3FGs. 
>> The trio of Alexander, Sr. G Justina Mascaro and Fr. G Kiera Baughman have combined for 138 of IUP's 174 made 3-pointers (79.3 pct.)

ALEXANDER HAVING BREAK OUT SENIOR SEASON
>> Sr. G Courtney Alexander has a team-best 61 3-point field goals and is 2nd on the team with 12.3 PPG. 
>> Her 2.8 made 3-pointers per game leads the PSAC and ranks 14th in Division II.
>> Alexander missed six games in January with an injury. 
>> She scored in double-figures in seven straight games before her injury on Dec. 19, averaging 18.9 PPG. 
>> Alexander is averaging 10.2 PPG in 11 games since returning from injury, including 15.4 in the last five.
>> Alexander has five 20-point games this year, including a career-high 31 points against Shippensburg.
>> She set an IUP single game record with 9 3-pointers in the win over Shippensburg on Dec. 19.
>> Alexander tied the previous record of 8 in the win over Kuztown on Dec. 3. 
>> She is 7th in IUP history with 157 career 3-pointers made (Carolyn Appleby, 6th, 168). 

MASCARO BRINGS CONSISTENCY
>> Sr. G Justina Mascaro is averaging 13.3 PPG and 4.9 RPG with 52 assists and 31 steals. 
>> In addition to leading the team in scoring, she ranks 2nd in the PSAC with a 54.8 FG%. 
>> She's led IUP in scoring 11 times and has reached double-figures 21 times in 28 games.
>> Mascaro has three 20-point outings, including a season-high 24 points, 10 made FGs and 4 made 3FGs against Gannon on Jan. 16.
>> She's shot at least 50.0 pct. in a game 17 times in 28 games, including a season-best 8-10 performance against Cal U (Jan. 31).
>> Mascaro heads into Saturday's game with 971 career points, including 800 scored (13.8 PPG) at IUP over the last two seasons (58 games).
>> Mascaro has scored in double-figures 42 times in 58 career games at IUP, including 12 20-point games.
>> She was a first team All-PSAC West performer in 2019-20, her first season at IUP.

FINK STANDING OUT
>> Jr. G Rajah Fink ranks 3rd on the team with 10.9 PPG and 4.7 RPG, and is 2nd with 63 assists.
>> Since moving into the starting lineup on Jan. 16 (17 starts), she has been the team's leading scorer (14.8 PPG) and 2nd leading rebounder (6.1 RPG).
>> She was named PSAC West co-Athlete of the Week on Jan. 31 after averaging 19.3 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 4.7 APG with a 56.4 FG% in three games. 
>> Fink tallied her first two career double-doubles against Edinboro (Jan. 26) and Mercyhurst (Jan. 29). 
>> She's reached double-figures in scoring 14 times in her last 16 games.
>> Fink has four 20-point games this year, including 21 points against Mercyhurst, Slippery Rock, and UPJ.
>> Fink had a career-high 11 rebounds against Edinboro.
>> She came on at the end of her sophomore season of 2019-20, averaging 10.9 PPG with six double-figure outings in the final 11 games. 

D'ANNA PROVIDES EXPERIENCE IN THE POST
>> Sr. F Maura D'Anna is 5th on the team with 6.5 PPG and has a team-best 7.4 RPG. 
>> She's averaging 11.0 RPG over her last three outings and has four double-digit games in the last eight.
>> She has seven games of 10+ boards on the year.
>> She has five double-figure scoring games including a season-high 14 points against Virginia State.
>> D'Anna posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards against Livingstone.
>> She's converted at least half her shots in 15 of her 27 games, including 7-8 against Virginia State.
>> D'Anna leads IUP in both blocks (34) and steals (33).
>> She is 6th in IUP history with 117 career blocks (Sherri Leysock, 5th, 130)
>> Her 1.2 blocks per game is 10th in the PSAC, getting a career-high 4 blocks against Virginia State.

KB MOVES INTO THE STARTING LINEUP
>> Fr. G Kiera Baughman is putting together one of the top freshman seasons in program history.
>> She has a team-best 70 assists and is 4th on the team in scoring at 9.4 PPG. 
>> Her 262 points is the most by an IUP freshman since Cathy Torchia's 369 (13.7 PPG) in 1989-90. 
>> She made her first start at Lock Haven (Feb. 2), hitting a career-high 19 points on 7-12 FGs and 5-5 FTs.
>> She's averaging 9.8 PPG in nine starts and 9.1 PPG in 19 games off the bench.
>> Baughman posted back-to-back double-doubles: 15 points and 10 rebounds at Slippery Rock (Feb. 5); 16 points and 12 rebounds at Mercyhurst (Feb. 7).
>> She's scored in double-figures 14 times this season, including 12 times in the last 19 games.
>> She's 3rd on the team with 30 3-pointers and a 34.1 3FG%. 

ADAMS IS ANOTHER VALUABLE FRESHMAN
>> Fr. F Gina Adams started the first 19 games and has played in all 28 in her first year. 
>> She's averaging 5.3 PPG and had a season-high 16 points in the win at Clarion on Jan. 22.
>> Adams is 4th on the team with 4.3 RPG. 
>> She had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds at Ohio Dominican.
>> She's shooting 46.4 pct. (58-125) from the field and has converted at least half her shots in 13 games.

 A NEW ADDITION IN 2022
>> Grace Mangapora joined the team on Jan. 4. She made her debut against Gannon on Jan. 16.
>> She's played in 8 games and is shooting 54.5 pct (6-11), including 4-8 from 3-point range.
>> Mangapora just finished her sophomore season on the IUP women's volleyball team where she started 10 matches this fall.
>> She was a 4-year starter, 1,000-point scorer, an Division I All-Ohio selection Canfield HS.