ERIE, Pa. — Indiana (Pa.) and Gannon will meet in a top-10 matchup with a combined 31-1 record this season when the Crimson Hawks travel north to face the Golden Knights. It marks the first meeting between two top-10-ranked programs during Craig Carey's fourth season as IUP head coach.
The Crimson Hawks enter the contest unbeaten against ranked opponents this season, outscoring then-No. 16 Ashland and then-No. 11 Fairmont State by a combined 63 points. IUP is coming off its second 100-point performance of the season after a 100-60 win over PSAC West rival Slippery Rock. Four players scored in double figures in that game, with three reaching at least 15 points.
IUP is 13-11 all time on the road against Gannon, including a road win over the Golden Knights last season.
Nyshae' Weaver leads the Crimson Hawks in scoring at 15.9 points per game and adds 8.8 rebounds per contest. Weaver recorded a double-double in both of IUP's wins over ranked opponents, which the Hawks have won by an average margin of 31.5 points.
Senior guard-forward Ellie Wilkerson has found consistency in conference play after recording two double-figure scoring games through the first 10 contests. She has since posted four straight games with at least 10 points and is averaging 15.5 points during that stretch. Her season high came against Millersville, when she went 5-for-5 from 3-point range and 9-for-10 from the field, scoring 23 points.
Maggio, a transfer from Mount Vernon Nazarene, has scored in double figures in 34 of the 39 games she has played between the two programs. She has reached double figures in all but two games this season for IUP and has done so in more than 86 percent of her career games while making at least one 3-pointer in 33 contests.
Gannon has spent the entire season in the top 10 of the WBCA rankings and climbed as high as No. 5 nationally. The Golden Knights are 1-0 against ranked opponents, earning a 66-51 win over then-No. 2 Union (Tenn.) at the Highmark Events Center.
The Golden Knights are led by Cleve Wright, who is in his 22nd season as a head coach and 18th at Gannon. Wright has won more than 75 percent of his games with the program. Bri Claxton leads Gannon at 14.4 points per game while averaging 27.5 minutes, and Kate Ratliff adds 11.2 points per game in 27.0 minutes.
IUP holds a 29-22 edge in the all-time series, which includes a 13-11 record in road games. The most recent meeting came in the NCAA Regional Tournament, where Gannon defeated IUP 72-59. The Crimson Hawks won 10 straight games in the series from 2016 to 2020 but have dropped seven of the last 10 matchups.
Through 14 games, IUP ranks second in the PSAC in scoring at 81.2 points per game and is among the conference leaders in scoring defense, allowing 51.0 points per contest. The Crimson Hawks also rank among the nation's top five in field goal percentage (.511), rebound margin (16.2), scoring defense and winning percentage.
