Setting the Scene
- Lady Bulldog Basketball has advanced to the NCAA Division II national semifinals, where they will meet Indiana (Pa.) on Wednesday evening at 5:00 pm in Columbus, Ohio
- SWOSU earned a spot in the Final Four with a 71-61 victory over Saint Anselm on Tuesday while IUP defeated Azusa Pacific 73-60 to reach the national semifinals for the second straight season
- Leading the way for the Lady Bulldogs in their first-ever Elite Eight trip was sophomore forward Bethany Franks, who matched her season-high with 18 points while pulling down nine rebounds and setting a new single-game school record with nine steals
- IUP has won seven straight games, claiming the PSAC Conference Championship before winning the Atlantic Regional Championship to advance to the Elite Eight
- Wednesday's national semifinal will be the first all-time meeting between SWOSU and IUP and the game will be broadcast live to a national audience on CBS Sports Network
 
About the Opponent
(3) #14/18 Indiana (Pa.) (30-3)
- Champions of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Indiana (Pa.) is in the NCAA Division II national tournament for the fifth straight year and they've advanced to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season under sixth-year head coach Tom McConnell
- The Crimson Hawks advanced to the national semifinals for the second straight season with a 73-60 victory over Azusa Pacific, a game that saw IUP use an 11-0 run in the third quarter to break open a close game
- IUP defeated Bowie State (67-60), Virginia Union (66-58) and Cal U (68-60) to win the Atlantic Regional Championship
- The Crimson Hawks rank third in NCAA Division II with a scoring margin of +21.9 as they average 76.6 points per game while holding their opponents to an average of 54.4 points, which ranks ninth in NCAA Division II
- IUP is led by Carolyn Appleby, a First Team All-Atlantic Region selection averaging 18.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game
 
The Series
First Meeting
 
SWOSU Notes
- With Tuesday's victory, the 2018-19 SWOSU Lady Bulldogs have matched the single-season school record with 34 victories, equaling the mark set by NAIA National Championship teams in 1982 and 1985
- Tuesday's win over Saint Anselm was SWOSU's 100th victory in the last four years, which is the most by a Lady Bulldog senior class during the NCAA Division II era and matches the Great American Conference record set by Harding's senior class of 2017
- Bethany Franks set a new single-game school record with nine steals in the Lady Bulldogs quarterfinal victory over Saint Anselm, while also totaling 18 points and nine rebounds
- SWOSU forced 31 turnovers by Saint Anselm, the second-highest total the Dawgs have forced this season (32, vs. Missouri Southern, Nov. 10)
- Hayden Priddy, named an All-American by D2CCA (First Team) and WBCA (Honorable Mention) earlier this week, scored 15 points against Saint Anselm to move within seven points of passing Valerie Fariss (1,845 points) for third on SWOSU's all-time scoring list
- Hailey Tucker, who was also named an All-American by WBCA (First Team) and D2CCA (Third Team), totaled 17 points, eight rebounds, four steals and one assist in the win over Saint Anselm
- With 11 points on Tuesday, Tyra Aska moved into ninth on SWOSU's career scoring list, passing Paige Adams (1,234 points)
- The Lady Bulldogs rank first in NCAA Division II in free throw attempts (826) and free throws made (629) this season while also ranking fourth with a scoring average of 84.3 points per game
- SWOSU managed just nine assists on 25 made baskets against Saint Anselm, with Taber Beer dishing out a team-best five assists in 22 minutes off the bench
 
Looking Ahead
- The winner of Wednesday's national semifinal will advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship game, where they will meet either (1) Drury or (5) Lubbock Christian on Friday evening at 6:00 pm in Columbus