  |
March 27, 2008
After a record breaking season which saw IUP win its second straight PSAC championship, Cindy Martin has been named the Division II East Region Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Martin led the Crimson Hawks to a record of 27-5 in 2007-08, eclipsing the previous record for most wins in a season that was set by the 1998-99 team that finished 26-6. The back-to-back conference titles mark the first time that had been accomplished in school history. IUP defeated Shippensburg and West Chester to advance to the championship game before staging a late rally to edge California for the league crown. The Crimson Hawks earned the top seed in the East Region tournament which was held at Memorial Field House. IUP climbed to as high as No. 5 in the WBCA national poll in early January, the highest such ranking since January 2000, and stood at No. 12 entering the NCAA tournament. "I am honored. I'm definitely accepting this award on behalf of my coaching staff and my student-athletes," said Martin. "Coach of the Year is a team award in my book. There are 21 people whose name should be on that award, including our athletic trainer and managers. "I think this is all very humbling. It's nice to see all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears we've put into this program be recognized nationally by the WBCA." In three seasons at IUP, Martin has led the team to a record of 70-23 and her winning percentage of .753 in the best in school history. The Crimson Hawks were 24-9 in 2006-07, won their first PSAC title since 1988 and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. There IUP knocked off Barton and Pitt Johnstown to advance to the Sweet 16. Martin was the PSAC West Coach of the Year in 2007 and several of her players have earned conference, regional and national recognition, including junior Jahzinga Tracey who was named to the WBCA All-America team this season and was the PSAC West Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2007. In Martin's first season, IUP was 19-9 and finished second in the PSAC West after being picked fifth in the preseason poll. The 19 wins included a road victory over eventual East Region champion Charleston, which was ranked fifth in the nation at the time, and was the highest total for a first-year IUP coach. The team had a 9.5-game improvement from the previous season, the seventh best increase in the nation. Martin's squad has represented itself well off the court. In 2005-06 the team was ranked 15th in the country by the WBCA for its grade point average of 3.422 and Kara Taylor was the IUP Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A year ago, Katie Glaws was a first team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District II selection and a recipient of the PSAC Top 10 award for combined athletic and academic excellence. The program has been very successful in its community service efforts. The team has been involved in many service projects, including hosting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Shoot for the Cure Classic that has donated over $30,000 to Komen Pittsburgh to aid in breast cancer research and education. In 2005-06, the team helped raise $13,000 for the Red Cross to aid the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Indiana County Human Services Council took notice and named the IUP women's basketball team their Volunteer Organization of the Year. |
