IUP climbs to No. 2 thanks to WPIAL crew
Tri-State Sports & News Service
It was right there in bold letters, impossible to miss: “The Indiana University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball team climbs to No. 2 in the nation, a program record.”
A tremendous feat, no doubt, given the Crimson Hawks, 14-0 entering Saturday’s game at Edinboro, trail only powerhouse Ashland (which set the all-time Division II record with its 52nd consecutive victory Saturday) in the D2SIDA Media National Poll.
Yet the lofty status has barely moved the needle with this group of 14 players, all returnees from last season’s NCAA tournament team. Ditto for Tom McConnell, he of the coaching-factory family from Brookline.
The way they see it, madness is reserved for March. Not early January. “We’ve never even talked about it,” said McConnell, who upped his career record at IUP to 10030 last Saturday with a 51point blowout win against Mercyhurst. “I didn’t know about it until my wife told me. She’s more into social media than I am. She mentioned it and I said, ‘Oh, I didn’t know.’ I think it’s premature this early in the season.”
It would be easy to accuse McConnell of coachspeak, given he has been in the business for three decades. However, his players sound strikingly similar to the former Saint Francis coach.
“We don’t bring it up,” said junior point guard Carolyn Appleby of Greensburg Central Catholic High. “Maybe a couple of teammates and I will see it on twitter, but we put that stuff in the back of our minds.” Playerspeak, anyone? “I haven’t heard anyone talking about it,” said junior shooting guard Lauren Wolosik, a Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic grad. “I was scrolling on Facebook and someone reposted it. I had no idea it was even coming. My personal reaction is gratitude, but this isn’t what will define us as a team.”
Ranked third in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association poll, the Crimson Hawks have their eyes on a bigger prize than these early-season accolades. They want to be cutting down the nets in April.
“I definitely think it’s possible for us to win the national championship,” said Appleby, who had 20 points and seven assists in IUP’s 62-58 loss to Virginia Union in the second round of the 2017 NCAA tournament. “I believe our team has something special.”
That became clear when the Crimson Hawks won the 2017 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament in March (Appleby was named MVP) and reached the Big Dance for the third consecutive season.
And it became even more clear when they invaded Petersen Events Center for an exhibition game Nov. 5 and handed Pitt, coached by Suzie McConnell Serio (Tom’s younger sister), a 73-68 defeat. Appleby, again, scored 20.
So impressive is this IUP team that it won its first 13 games by an average of 28.1 points.
The starting backcourt of Appleby, Wolosik and senior Halle Denman (Blackhawk) is savvy and seasoned. Through 14 games, Appleby ranked second on the team in scoring (13.7 points per game), 3-point percentage (.357) and assists (49), to go with a teambest 31 free throws in 38 attempts. Wolosik had an IUP-best 75 assists, while averaging 10 points and 2.4 steals. Meantime, Denman averaged 3.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-leading 2.6 steals.
That trio is part of a roster that features seven WPIAL alums. Audrey Stapleton (Indiana), Courtney Alexander (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart), Madison Kerr (Peters Township) and Lexie Griggs (Vincentian) are the others.
“The WPIAL is very important to us,” McConnell said, “There’s such good basketball in Western Pennsylvania, players and coaches. So for us not to have to go very far to bring in great players, that’s a big deal.”
Appleby, who scored more than 1,500 points at Greensburg Central Catholic, has been a “big deal” since breaking into the starting lineup as a sophomore. In last season’s PSAC tournament title-game victory against California, she had 30 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. That performance culminated a threegame surge in which she averaged 22.3 points, 6.0 assists and went 22 of 23 from the free-throw line (including 10 of 10 in the championship game).
Versatile and aggressive, she had scored 16 or more points five times entering Wednesday. That total included 26 against West Chester (she went 6 of 7 from 3-point range) and 19 versus Bowie State.
“She has a gift,” McConnell said. “She can put the ball in the basket. She also brings a positive energy, which is contagious.”
McConnell calls Denman, “The most valuable six-point scorer in the country.” Why?
“Because you can’t take her off the court,” he said. “She does so many things that don’t show up in the scoring column. She gets deflections, steals, charges. She knows our press so well, knows the offense. A smart, savvy player.”
While it takes talent to form a championship-caliber team, chemistry and cohesiveness cannot be understated. IUP is proof.
All 14 of the Crimson Hawks pray together before and after each game (”It’s important to us,” Appleby said.), and they regularly sit down for dinner after practice.
“We’re definitely built for success,” said Wolosik, a transfer from Division I Central Connecticut who has overcome two ACL surgeries and is working toward her MBA.
“I know there are other teams out there who are equally talented and capable and have the same desire that we have. We just believe that we have what it takes to achieve our goals. We’re a hungry basketball team.”