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March 8, 2009
After winning its third straight PSAC championship with a 60-51 overtime victory over California on Saturday, the IUP women's basketball team has been seeded second in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region tournament which gets under way Friday at California's Hamer Hall. The Crimson Hawks (25-5) will face No. 7 seed Johnson C. Smith (20-10), the champion of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, in the opening round. Tipoff time will be announced Monday. The Golden Bulls were ranked 10th in the latest Atlantic Region poll but earned an automatic bid with a 49-36 upset of top-seeded Bowie State in the CIAA championship game on February 28. In the IUP half of the bracket, third-seeded Gannon (24-4) will take on Fayetteville State (19-8). In the other half of the bracket, top-seeded and host California (26-4) faces No. 8 District of Columbia (24-4) and No. 4 seed Charleston (25-6) plays fifth-seeded Millersville (23-6). Charleston won the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and an automatic bid while California, Gannon, Millersville, Fayetteville State and District of Columbia received at-large bids. The IUP-Johnson C. Smith and Gannon-Fayetteville State winners will play in the first semifinal on Saturday, followed by the California-District of Columbia and Charleston-Millersville survivors. The championship game will take place Monday night, with the winner of the tournament advancing to the Elite Eight March 24, 25 and 27 in San Antonio, Texas. The Crimson Hawks competed in what used to be the East Region but are now in the restructured Atlantic Region along with the WVIAC and CIAA, which replaced Conference Carolinas in IUP's region. The Crimson Hawks are making their third consecutive appearance and sixth overall in the NCAA tournament. IUP won its only region title in 1999 and lost in the championship game to Glenville State in 2007. A year ago, the Crimson Hawks were the No. 1 seed and hosted the regional tournament at Memorial Field House but were upset by Mount Olive in the first round. IUP, ranked 13th in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association national poll, has an overall record of 4-5 in the NCAA tournament, including 4-4 in regional play and a 75-67 loss to Northern Kentucky in the 1999 Elite Eight. The game versus Johnson C. Smith will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women's basketball. IUP is 3-4 this season versus teams that made the Atlantic Region field, including victories over Gannon and California in the PSAC tournament. The Crimson Hawks split their regular season games with Gannon, lost twice to California and dropped a PSAC crossover game at Millersville. IUP head coach Jeff Dow is in the regional tournament for the fourth straight season. He led Anderson to the East Region tournament in each of his three seasons with the Trojans and directed one of only eight programs in the nation to win an opening round game the past three years. |
