INDIANA, Pa. – IUP women's basketball, which jumped to fifth nationally in the D2SIDA rankings, readies for the PSAC West opener on Wednesday, January 4 at the KCAC against Seton Hill. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.
IUP (10-0, 5-0) drilled 14 three-point baskets and pulled away for a road win at Millersville last time out on December 30. IUP went 5-for-8 from distance in the fourth quarter as part of an impressive 80-62 victory against the Marauders.
Seton Hill (9-5, 2-3) is looking to bounce back from consecutive conference losses that closed out 2022. The Griffins could not shake off a sluggish third quarter in a 90-72 setback to West Chester on December 30.
GAME INFORMATION – SETON HILL
AROUND THE LEAGUE
- PSAC Composite Schedule: Here
- 2022-23 Stats: Here
- 2022-23 Standings: Here
TIPOFF NOTES
- 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 five remaining undefeated teams in Division II.
- The IUP guard duo of Kiera Baughman (17.0 ppg, 3.2 ast, 2.5 stl) and Maria Cerro (13.3 ppg, 4.6 ast, 2.2 stl) account for nearly 40% of IUP's scoring this season, also combining for 78 of the team's 145 assists. Both rank among the top 20 in the PSAC in scoring.
- The Hawks 14 triples against Millersville are tied for the second most in a single game in program history, also the most dating back to the 209-20 opener against Davis & Elkins.
- IUP has won 13 consecutive regular season contests, dating back to the end of 2021-22.
- Baughman dropped in a career high 32 points at Millersville, going 7-of-13 from deep. Gina Adams added five three-point buckets for 15 points as the duo combined for 12 makes from beyond the arc.
- The Hawks are 53-12 in PSAC West games since the 2017-18 season, including 28-4 at home.
- IUP has posted wins in four of the last five meetings with Seton Hill, part of a 14-4 mark dating back to 2013.
- IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 12th in the nation with a scoring margin of +20.4 this season. Only two of the Hawks' 10 wins have come by less than double digits.
- Baughman ranks seventh in the PSAC in scoring average. She leads an IUP starting lineup that all post at least 10.4 points/game through 10 contests.
- Cerro dealt out nine of the Hawks' 18 assists last week against Millersville. The 18 assists were tied for the second most in a game this season, trailing only the blowout win against Rosemont.
SCOUTING SETON HILL
- West Chester used a pair of 11-0 runs in the first half to pull away from the Griffins in a 90-72 victory in the team's last outing. Alle Seto and Christiane Frye tied for a game-high 18 points each.
- Seton Hill posted its first 20-win season since 2017-18 last year under veteran head coach Mark Katarski. Katarski is just seven wins shy of 200 for his coaching career, now in his ninth season at SHU.
- The Griffins attempt a large volume of three-point shots, ranking 15th nationally in three-point attempts/game (27.0). SHU ranks fourth in the league in scoring defense (57.8) and sixth in the league in offensive rebounding (13.4).
- Hallie Cowan (7.8 ppg) is a key three-point shooter for the Griffins, launching 81 attempts from beyond the arc in 14 games. Fry and Seto are the statistical leaders for the Griffins this season in scoring, while Courtney Tomas chips in 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds from the starting lineup.
IUP IN THE POLLS
- Despite the unbeaten record, IUP is still not listed in the WBCA Top 25.
- The Hawks have risen to fifth 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 20 nationally in field goal percentage defense (.343) and scoring defense (55.8).
- IUP ranks third in the PSAC in scoring defense, trailing Gannon (51.2).
- 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 and forcing 19.6 turnovers per game.
- The Crimson Hawks have held nine 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 improved on last year's 9-0 start with a road win at Millersville on December 30.
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 last time out at Millersville. 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.
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 (12.9) and second in rebounding (8.4), all while shooting 46.0% from the floor. She is averaging 14.5 points and 9.1 rebounds over the last seven games, logging double figure scoring in each of those outings, while adding 10 steals.
- Cardona pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds, adding 10 points while playing all 40 minutes against West Chester. She followed it up with her second consecutive double-double at Millersville behind 11 points and 11 rebounds.
- 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 three double-doubles over the past five outings.
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 (17.0), ranks 10th in the PSAC in assists/game (3.2) and third in steals/game (2.5).
- Baughman registered her first collegiate 30-point scoring performance against the Marauders.
- Baughman recorded her 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 10 games in 2022-23.
- A consistent shooter in all areas, Baughman is also 54-for-60 (.900) at the foul line, ranking first 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 first in the PSAC in rebounds/game.
- Preston is second in the PSAC in rebounding average (10.1), 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 seventh in the nation in defensive rebounds/game (30.9) and second in the PSAC with a +8.1 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 (13.3) as a speedy guard.
- Cerro ranks 11th in the PSAC in FG percentage at 45.9%.
- She is first on the team with an average of 34.3 minutes as part of the IUP starting lineup, playing 31 minutes or more in each game aside from the blowout win against Rosemont.
- Cerro has posted double figures in eight of 10 contests this season.
- Cerro is seventh in the PSAC with 2.20 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 two contests for IUP.
- 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 lately, posting 6.25 rebounds/game since December 11.
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.
