STORYLINE
Edinboro welcomes West Chester on Saturday afternoon in the PSAC Semifinals. The Fighting Scots are the top seed in the PSAC West while the Golden Rams are the second seed from the PSAC East. The Scots are looking to avenge a 76-73 loss in December at West Chester. Edinboro is coming off a 79-60 quarterfinals win versus Indiana (Pa.) while the Golden Rams advanced to this point with an 86-74 win against Kutztown. This game pits the two coaches at the top of the active wins list for the PSAC against each other with Stan Swank (Edinboro - 488 wins) against Deirdre Kane (West Chester - 447 wins). Edinboro is ranked third in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Rankings and is 25th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Scots are riding a six-game winning streak and are 22-5 overall. West Chester comes in at 19-8.
 
DATE: Saturday, March 8, 2014
TIP-OFF: 3:30 p.m.
SITE: McComb Fieldhouse
RADIO: WFSE 88.9 FM
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/edinboro/wbball/
 
Edinboro Game Notes
 
Edinboro Season Stats, West Chester Season Stats

Probable Starters

Edinboro (22-5 Overall, 15-1 PSAC West)	West Chester (19-8 Overall, 13-3 PSAC East)
#30 Valerie Majewski (G, 5-7, Jr.)	#3 Jasmen Clark (G, 5-3, So.)
#3   Darche' Jackson (G, 5-8, Sr.)	#13 Dallas Ely (G, 5-9, So.)
#00 Lauren Hippo (G/F, 5-10, So.)	#21 Brittany Sicinski (G, 5-10, So.)
#11 Laurel Lindsay (G/F, 6-0, Jr.)	#20 Anna Kuntz (F, 6-0, So.)
#13 Aignee' Freeland (F/C, 6-3, So.)	#33 Kendall Benovy (F, 5-11, Jr.)

Head Coaches

Edinboro	West Chester
Stan Swank (Purdue 1976)	Deirdre Kane
Record at Edinboro: 488-274, 27th year	Record at West Chester: 447-309, 27th year
Career Record: Same	Career Record: 489-343

               
Key Players
Edinboro
#30 Valerie Majewski (G, 5-7, Jr.) - The PSAC West Athlete of the Year and First Team All-PSAC is coming off an impressive 21-point effort against Indiana (Pa.) in the PSAC Quarterfinals. Majewski leads the team with 15.7 ppg. and scored 14 points the last time Edinboro played West Chester.
 
#3 Darche' Jackson (G, 5-8, Sr.) - Jackson was named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year and Second Team All-PSAC West on Wednesday. The senior guard scored 20 points in the quarterfinals and is averaging 18.0 ppg. over the last four games.
 
West Chester
#13 Dallas Ely (G, 5-9, So.) - Ely leads the PSAC with 19.5 ppg. and was named First Team All-PSAC East. She scored 19 points on 6-for-13 shooting in the December meeting between Edinboro and West Chester and is averaging 22.3 ppg. over the last four games.
 
#21 Brittany Sicinksi (G, 5-10, So.) - The other half of the second-highest scoring duo in the PSAC, Sicinski is tenth in the conference with 15.1 ppg. The sophomore guard led the Golden Rams with 24 points in the earlier game between these two.
 
SCOUTING WEST CHESTER
Deirdre Kane has led the Golden Rams to the PSAC Tournament for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons. It is also West Chester's 20th winning season in 27 years under Kane's guidance. The Golden Rams finished 19-8 this season and 13-3 in the PSAC East. Against PSAC West teams, they went 3-3. West Chester is the top scoring team in the PSAC at 80.9 ppg. The Golden Rams rank 14th in the PSAC allowing 73.8 ppg. West Chester is 14th in the PSAC allowing opposing teams to hit 33.9 percent of its 3-pointers. The Golden Rams rank second in the conference in turnover margin at +4.6. West Chester features two First Team All-PSAC East performers in Dallas Ely and Brittany Sicinski. The two are the second-highest scoring duo in the league totaling 34.6 ppg. together. Ely leads the conference with 19.5 ppg. The 5'9" guard plays a conference-high 35.4 minutes per game and averages 2.6 steals per game, good for fourth in the PSAC. The sophomore also pulls down 6.4 rpg. Sicinski is tenth in the PSAC in scoring at 15.1 ppg. The 5'10" sophomore guard adds 6.1 rpg. and 3.8 assists per game, the latter ranking ninth in the PSAC. Second Team All-PSAC East honoree Kendall Benovy is third on the team with 12.6 ppg. and leads the team with 6.8 rpg. She also averages 1.0 blocks per game, which is 11th in the PSAC.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE GOLDEN RAMS
Edinboro leads 14-6
•       Edinboro won six in a row in the series before the 76-73 loss earlier this season.
•       The Fighting Scots have won all three PSAC Tournament games between the two, winning 74-58 two years ago in the PSAC Semifinals.
 
Last Meeting - West Chester 76, Edinboro 73 (December 21, 2013)
The Golden Rams pulled out a close win in West Chester in the lone regular season meeting between the two this season, 76-73. The second half had multiple runs by both teams. The Fighting Scots went on a 10-2 run that was capped off by a Darche' Jackson 3-pointer to give Edinboro its first lead at 40-38 with 17:35 to play. The Golden Rams replied with a 14-0 run later in the half. Trailing 54-49 with 12:51 remaining, WCU held Edinboro scoreless for the next four minutes and 25 seconds. That would lead to a 13-3 run by the Scots as they took a 67-66 lead with 4:56 to go. Laurel Lindsay scored eight points during that stretch. Edinboro's final lead was at 71-70 with 3:25 to go. West Chester would take the lead as the Scots went over three minutes without scoring and secured the win for the Golden Rams. Aignee' Freeland had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Valerie Majewski added 14 points while Darche' Jackson had a then season-high 12 assists. For West Chester, Brittany Sicinski led the way with 24 points and added eight rebounds. Dallas Ely poured in 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Kendall Benovy and Anna Kuntz also scored in double figures, finishing with 18 points and 10 points, respectively.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Edinboro 79, Indiana (Pa.) 60 - PSAC Quarterfinals
Indiana (Pa.) led 13-7 early, but Edinboro went on a 28-2 run to take a 34-15 lead which helped to lead to a 40-24 halftime lead. Valerie Majewski scored 11 points over the impressive run and Lauren Hippo added nine points as the Fighting Scots hit 6-of-9 3-pointers during the stretch. They shot 63.0 percent in the first half, their highest in any half of basketball this season. Edinboro would lead by at least 12 points the rest of the game with the lead climbing to 30 points with 6:49 to play. Majewski led the team with 21 points and nine assists. She shot 8-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-7 on 3-pointers. Darche' Jackson added 20 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Hippo finished with 13 points, making 4-of-5 3-pointers.
 
West Chester 86, Kutztown 74 - PSAC Quarterfinals
West Chester's scoring duo of Dallas Ely and Brittany Sicinski combined for 44 points in the 86-74 win over sixth-seeded Kutztown. The Golden Rams trailed 42-36 at halftime, but went on a 12-0 run to open the second half. Trailing 61-59 later in the second half, West Chester had a 13-0 run to take an 11-point lead with 2:35 left. Ely finished with a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Sicinski was the game's leading scorer with 23 points. Keisha Steele-Hook added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.