GAME 33 NCAA ELITE EIGHT

(2) IUP (29-3) vs Holy Family  (30-4) 
Monday, March 24, 2026 | 2:30 p.m
Pittsburgh, Pa | UPMC Cooper Field House

Stream: ESPN Plus with Brendan Gulick and Kelly Burke
Radio: U92.5 FM with Jack Benedict and Tony Coccagna

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
The IUP women's basketball team reaches their fourth Elite Eight appereance in program history and travels to Pittsburgh, PA to face the Holy Family Tigers led by CACC Coach of the Year Bernadette Laukaitis. Tipoff is set for 2:30 PM inside of the UPMC Cooper Field House.

IUP defeated third-seeded Winston-Salem State with a go-ahead 3-PT field goal by Marin Miller with only five seconds remaining in the game clock to advance the Crimson Hawks to the Elite Eight. Holy Family holds notable wins against one-seeded Southern Conn. St. and third-seeded Daemen, defeating both by a margin of 10+ points.

TIP OFF NOTES
>> At this point in his tenure, head coach Craig Carey records the third appearance of making the NCAA Tournament since being elevated to head coach in the 2022-23 season.
>> IUP's last appereance in the Elite Eight apperance was in the 2019 season which saw the Crimson Hawks advance to the semifinals with a 73-60 victory over Azusa Pacific.
>> IUP has three All-PSAC selections: Athlete of the Year Shae' Weaver, first-team All-PSAC guard Teresa Maggio and second-team forward Ellie Wilkerson.
>> This will be the first time in program history that IUP faces Holy Family.
>> IUP has had four starters score double digits in the Atlantic Regional Finals. Wilkerson led the Crimson Hawks with 18 points, Maggio scored 15 points, Weaver recorded 13-points alongside a team high seven rebounds, Marin Miller scored 10-points which included the game winning 3-PT field goal.
>> In three seasons at IUP, Nyshae Weaver has played in 82 games for the Crimson Hawks. After Monday's game against Winston-Salem, Weaver has scored in double figures in 71 of those 82 games, an 86% clip.
>> Head coach Craig Carey was named PSAC West Coach of the Year after leading the Crimson Hawks to a regional ranking for all but one week of the season. IUP spent much of the second half of the season ranked in the top five and top 10 as well.
>> Weaver was named First Team All-Atlantic Region by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.

HOLY FAMILY AT A GLANCE
The CACC runner-up Tigers became the first CACC women's basketball program to win the East Region Title in their dominant victory against Daemen.

Holy Family rolled past Daemen with diligent effort in rebounding and bench performance. The Tigers' out-rebounded Daemen 50-23 and Holy Family's bench outscored Daemen's 32-6.

Holy Family was decorated with prestigious awards with their impressive performance in the regular season which included a perfect 20-0 conference record. Head coach Bernadette Laukaitis was named CACC's coach of the year. Taylor Hinkle was awarded All-CACC First Team status for the third season in a row, Ella Brown became the Tiger's fifth Rookie of the Year in program history, Skyler Searfoss and Kaelah Carter were both named to All-CACC Third Team.

The Tiger's ranked top five in several statistical categories across Division II. Holy Family ranks first in scoring defense (50.7), second in rebounds per game (46.06) while playing a minimal-foul game, averaging 12.1 fouls per game which ranks third throughout Division II.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the first meeting between the two programs.

D2CCA ALL-REGION
Shae Weaver was named PSAC Athlete of the Year and D2CCA All-Region. She ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage and leads the team in scoring, rebounds and assists. Weaver became a member of IUP's 1,000-rebound club on Feb. 21 against Clarion. She is just the third player in program history to reach the milestone.

PSAC WEST COACH OF THE YEAR
Head coach Craig Carey was named PSAC West Coach of the Year in his fourth season leading the Crimson Hawks. Carey has won 91 games in his first four seasons, including a career-high 29 this year. He guided IUP to a 4-1 record against ranked teams this season and a 16-1 mark at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.

ALL PSAC PERFORMERS
IUP had two more representatives on the All-PSAC teams, as Teresa Maggio was named to the first team in her first season with the Crimson Hawks. The junior transfer established herself as one of the top shooters in the conference, shooting nearly 40% from 3-point range. Maggio has recorded 21 games with multiple 3-pointers.

Ellie Wilkerson was named second-team All-PSAC, earning all-conference honors for the first time. She averaged 10.8 points per game this season while shooting 38% from 3-point range.

BALANCED ATTACK
The Crimson Hawks have three players averaging double figures in scoring: Nyshae Weaver, Teresa Maggio and Marin Miller. Maggio recorded her first career double-double in the opening-round game against Charleston, while Weaver posted a 25-point, 12-rebound double-double against Seton Hill.

Miller has had her best stretch of the season, averaging 13.5 points over two regional games.Miller is averaging 9.4 points per game this season.