INDIANA, Pa. – IUP women's basketball is back home on Saturday, hosting rival California (Pa.) at the KCAC. Tipoff is slated for 1:00 p.m., which starts a busy stretch of four games over the next seven days.
IUP (12-3, 7-3) ended a three-game slide with a 76-53 victory against Clarion on Wednesday night behind a balanced effort. California (10-6, 6-4) dropped its second consecutive divisional matchup, falling to Mercyhurst by a 61-51 count last time out.
GAME INFORMATION – CALU
AROUND THE LEAGUE
- PSAC Composite Schedule: Here
- 2022-23 Stats: Here
- 2022-23 Standings: Here
TIPOFF NOTES
- IUP had big contributions from throughout the starting lineup with five players in double figures during a 76-53 win against Clarion. Kiera Baughman notched her fourth 20-point scoring effort of the season to lead the Hawks, adding six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
- Saturday marks a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament contest in Glenville, a 52-51 defeat for IUP. Ciara Lloyd converted a layup :00.6 seconds left in the opening round matchup. Baughman notched 13 points in that game with the Vulcans.
- The Hawks are 55-15 in PSAC West games since the 2017-18 season.
- IUP had five scorers in double figures for the second time in the last four games. Gina Adams added 14 points and five assists with Alana Cardona posting 13 points and five boards.
- IUP assisted on 25 of 29 made field goals against Clarion. The Crimson Hawks had four players with five assists or more in the win, including Baughman (6), Maria Cerro (6), Adams (5) and Janiera Scott (5).
- The Hawks 25 assists marked a season high, just outside the top 10 in program history for a single game. IUP's record for assists in a game is 38, coming against Indianapolis back in 1992.
- Teirra Preston returned to the IUP starting lineup after missing the UPJ game, posting 11 points, three rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes.
- Cerro is fourth in the PSAC in steals (36) and seventh in assists (63), shooting up to 13.5 points/game for the Hawks.
IUP IN THE POLLS
- IUP is not listed in the latest WBCA ranking.
- The Hawks dropped out of the top 25 in the D2SIDA rankings. IUP rose up to as high as fifth nationally during the team's unbeaten start.
- IUP also dropped tie for third to eighth in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region rankings.
- The Hawks begin a new week of PSAC West play atop the division standings, picked fourth in the league's preseason poll.
IUP DEFENSE HAS HAD MOMENTS OF BRILLIANCE
- While facing some poor-shooting opponents early in the nonconference slate, IUP has been aggressive on the defensive end of the floor. IUP was ranked among the top 20 nationally in field goal percentage defense, but dropped to sixth in the PSAC at 37.7%.
- IUP ranks sixth in the PSAC in scoring defense (60.4).
- 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 9.7 steals per contest, good for fourth in the PSAC, while forcing 19.1 turnovers per game.
- The Crimson Hawks have held 12 opponents under 70 points and six to 60 points or less.
IUP BEGAN THE SEASON WITH AN 11-0 START
- The Hawks have historically been no strangers to strong starts over the years, winning each of the initial 11 games during the 2022-23 campaign.
- 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 improved on last year's 9-0 start with wins against Millersville and Seton Hill, moving to 11-0 on the season.
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.
- The duo made their IUP debuts at Millersville on December 30. DeShields banked in a triple and added a rebound in 10 minutes, while Scott posted three points, two rebounds, three assists and a steal in 10 minutes of action off the bench.
- DeShields posted 12 points (6-8 FT) with two rebounds and an assist to provide IUP with a spark off the bench against Seton Hill, playing 26 minutes on January 4.
- Scott saw an increase in playing time, making a difference on both ends of the floor against Gannon. In just her fourth contest of the season, Scott posted 17 points, two rebounds and three steals against the Knights.
CARDONA PROVIDES STABILITY IN THE POST
- 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 (12.3) and second in rebounding (8.0), all while shooting 46.5% from the floor.
- Cardona has battled foul trouble lately, limiting her time on the court to just 26 minutes against Gannon and UPJ.
- Cardona pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds, adding 10 points while playing all 40 minutes against West Chester. She continued her solid stretch at Millersville behind 11 points and 11 rebounds before point 19 points and tying a career-best 12 boards against Seton Hill.
- 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 11 games this season.
- She was named PSAC West Athlete of the Week on December 6, her first weekly honor from the league.
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, later following it up with a new career-best 32 points at Millersville.
- Baughman leads the team in scoring average (16.5), ranks eighth in the PSAC in assists/game (3.5) and seventh in steals/game (2.2). She is one of three players in the PSAC to rank among the top 10 in all three of those statistical categories.
- She dealt out a career high eight assists against Seton Hill on January 4. Baughman recently registered her first collegiate 30-point scoring performance against the Marauders on December 30, 2022.
- 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 33 through 15 games in 2022-23.
- A consistent shooter in all areas, Baughman is also 68-for-79 (.861) at the foul line, ranking third in the PSAC in free throw percentage.
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 third in the PSAC in rebounds/game.
- Preston is sixth in the PSAC in rebounding average (8.5), grabbing 10 or more in four outings. Cardona follows closely behind in 10th (8.0) along the low block for the Hawks. Preston grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds against West Chester, tied for third most among PSAC players this season.
- The Hawks are first in the conference in defensive rebounds/game (28.7) and first in the PSAC with a +7.7 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 (13.5) as a speedy guard.
- Cerro ranks ninth in the PSAC in FG percentage at 42.8%.
- She is first on the team with an average of 34.5 minutes as part of the IUP starting lineup, playing 31 minutes or more in each game aside from the blowout win against Rosemont.
- Cerro struggled shooting the ball against UPJ, going just 1-11 from the floor after converting at nearly 46% over the previous three outings.
- Cerro has posted double figures in 12 of 15 contests this season. She notched 19 points in 37 minutes against Mercyhurst on January 7.
- Cerro is fourth in the PSAC with 2.4 steals/game, adding a season-best five at Mansfield on December 2.
- Cerro added 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.
ADAMS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
- Gina Adams has played her best basketball to date statistically speaking over the last few weeks for IUP.
- Adams poured in a career-high 22 points against Gannon, marking his first collegiate 20-point outing.
- The sophomore registered 19 points (4-9 3FG) against West Chester and added 15 more against Millersville (5-11 3FG).
- Adams has also been a consistent rebounding threat for the Hawks, posting five or more rebounds 11 games. Adams pulled in a season-high 10 rebounds against Seton Hill on January 4, 2023.
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.
