EDINBORO, Pa. (November 21, 2015) – The Edinboro University women's basketball team was slow out of the gates against Kutztown and despite a valiant effort fell just short of an 11-point comeback in the final quarter. Kutztown held on to win 65-63 to improve to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the PSAC East. The Fighting Scots dropped their first game of the season, now 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC West.
 
Edinboro opened up the scoring in the game on a Katie Fischer layup to take a 2-0 lead, but struggled to get anything going for a majority of the period. Kutztown used an 11-5 run to close the first quarter with an 18-12 lead. The Golden Bears held a 13-10 advantage on the glass, including a 7-3 offensive rebound differential after the first quarter. Kutztown's Kelsey Watson scored nine of the 18 points. Edinboro shot just 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from the field in the opening quarter and committed five turnovers to Kutztown's zero.
 
With six minutes remaining in the second quarter, Aignee' Freeland sparked a 10-3 Edinboro run that tied the game with just over two minutes remaining in the half. Two quick baskets by Kutztown's Jenna Altomare in the final 30 seconds gave the Golden Bears a 31-27 going into half.
 

Michelle Jahn led the scoring for the Fighting Scots in the first half, totaling nine points including three 3-pointers. Freeland and Fisher each had seven points apiece. Freeland added seven boards as well. Watson paced the Golden Bears with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while dishing out four assists and pulling down four rebounds.
 
Kutztown's Natalya Lee opened the scoring in a second half that was back and forth all the way. Three lead changes occurred in the period, with the final taking place on a M. Jahn 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining in the quarter to give Edinboro a two-point lead. M. Jahn hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a 30 second span as Edinboro pushed the lead up to 46-41. Altomare responded with a three of her own to cut the deficit to just two and Watson hit a free throw in the final seconds to close the third down just one.
 
The Golden Bears opened the final period with an 11-1 run to take the lead by 11, the biggest of the night, with just over five to play. With just over four minutes remaining, Freeland drew a foul and hit both of her free throws to cut the deficit to single digits. After a Watson jumper, M. Jahn hit a layup followed by a steal by sister Lindsay Jahn to swing the momentum back to Edinboro. Unfortunately, Edinboro couldn't cash in on the turnover as Kutztown's Lee stole the ball back. Trailing by seven, L. Jahn hit a 3-pointer, followed up by a steal by sister Michelle and a jumper by Maggie Moore to complete the play. Trailing by just two, Edinboro sent Watson to the line for Kutztown and she converted on both to give the Golden Bears a four-point lead with just nine seconds remaining. A deep three by Hippo cut the lead back to one with five seconds remaining. Edinboro sent Kutztown's Kara Funk to the line who

made just 1-of-2 to give the Fighting Scots a last chance to tie or take the lead. Unfortunately, a last ditch 3-pointer by Hippo was just off-line as the time expired.
 
M. Jahn led the Edinboro scoring with 18 points, including 5-of-13 from beyond the arc. Hippo picked up a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards, while Freeland totaled 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Watson led the Golden Bear's with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Altomare totaled 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Edinboro shot just 33.3 percent (23-of-69) while Kutztown hit 40.3 percent from the field. The Fighting Scots held a slim 46-44 advantage on the glass.
 
Edinboro is right back in action tomorrow, hosting another PSAC East opponent in Mansfield. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in McComb Fieldhouse.