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LOCK HAVEN -- IUP was ranked as the top team in the Western Division in the 2026-27 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Polls, which were released Thursday.
IUP is coming off the most successful postseason run in program history. The Crimson Hawks captured the PSAC Tournament and NCAA Division II Atlantic Region championships before advancing to the national championship game for the first time.
IUP returns three starters, including Hollidaysburg Area High School graduate Marin Miller and Chestnut Ridge graduate Belle Bosch.
Miller, a graduate student, started all 35 games for IUP last season and hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the Atlantic Region championship game to send IUP to the Elite Eight. Bosch, a senior, started 33 games and shot 50% from the field.
East Stroudsburg was voted the top team in the East. The polls are voted on by the conference's head coaches.
Bloomsburg, ranked as the fourth-place team in the East, is coming off a 16-14 season with an 11-10 record in PSAC action. The Huskies beat Shepherd, 70-53, in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament before falling at top-seeded Gannon, 66-56, in the quarterfinals.
Hollidaysburg senior Alison Hatajik and sophomore Bella Vent are members of the team. Hatajik averaged 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last year and was a second-team All-PSAC East selection. Vent is a transfer from IUP.
Shippensburg, voted seventh in the East, is coming off a 3-25 campaign in 2025-26, including a 2-19 record in PSAC East play.
The Raiders return nine players, including sophomore guard Melana Eyer, an Altoona Area High School graduate who averaged 11.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last year.
Bellwood-Antis graduate Lilly Gerwert is a freshman for Shippensburg.