GAME NOTES (.pdf) | LIVE STATS (Saturday only)
STORYLINE
Sixth-ranked Edinboro opens its 2012-13 season at the Glenville State Classic this weekend against two of the top teams from the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in West Liberty and Glenville State. West Liberty went 15-15 last year, but has posted a 431-199 record in 21 years under head coach Lynn Ullom. Glenville State, meanwhile, went 23-7 last season before losing in the WVIAC final and was the nation's top scoring team a year ago. Glenville State and Edinboro were first and second respectively in turnover margin as well last year. Edinboro finished with the best record in school history at 30-2, reaching the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship Game before falling to eventual national champion Shaw. The Fighting Scots must replace three starters from that team, returning
Kiara Brown and
Samantha Blazetic. Edinboro played two exhibition games last week, falling 88-28 at last season's Division I national runner-up #7/6 Notre Dame before taking another D-I Sweet 16 entrant, St. Bonaventure to the wirelast Saturday before falling on a last-second shot, 63-62.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
West Liberty opens its 2012-13 schedule with a tilt against Edinboro at the Glenville State Classic. The Hilltoppers are coming off a 15-15 season where they finished eighth in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. West Liberty has long been a power in the WVIAC under the guidance of head coach Lynn Ullom. Ullom has led the Hilltoppers to a 431-199 record in his 21 years on the sidelines. West Liberty returns two starters and eight letterwinners from last year's team. Junior guard Hillary Southworth is the leading returning scorer for West Liberty with 16.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game a year ago, scoring in double figures in 27 games along with eight games of 20 or more points. Also back is senior forward Emily Blevins (11.5 points, 7.4 rebounds), who recorded 17 double-figuring scoring efforts last year and is a force on the boards. The team will need to replace last year's leading scorer, Kayla Ayers, who averaged 17.4 points per game a year ago. West Liberty was picked to finish third in the WVIAC preseason coaches' poll, taking one first place vote. Edinboro is 5-6 vs. West Liberty all-time, with the last meeting coming during the 2009-10 season when the Hilltoppers were victorious, 76-70.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
The Pioneers begin their season by hosting the Glenville State Classic, opening with Virginia Union on Friday before taking on Edinboro Saturday. The Pioneers posted a 23-7 record last season, ending as WVIAC runner-up as they fell to West Virginia Wesleyan in the conference championship game. The Pioneers frequently lit up the scoreboard last season, leading all of Division II in scoring offense last year with 94.3 points per game, six points better than second place Oklahoma Panhandle (88.9). Just two starters return from that team, though, as juniors Kenyell Goodson (11.2 points, 2.3 rebounds) and Ginny Mills (11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds) anchor the returning lineup. Glenville played outstanding on its home court in 2011-12, finishing with a record of 12-1. WVIAC coaches selected Glenville State to finish second in the conference preseason coaches poll, with the Pioneers taking one first place vote behind favorite Fairmont State. The Fighting Scots have faced Glenville just twice, dropping both meetings. The Pioneers won the last meeting, 62-57 during the 2006-07 season.
STARTING ON THE RIGHT NOTE
Edinboro has been outstanding in season-opening games during the
Stan Swank tenure. Under Swank, the Fighting Scots have won 22 of 25 season openers, including 11 consecutive debuts. Edinboro has started 2-0 the past four seasons, with opening weekend victories at Mansfield and Bloomsburg a year ago.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Edinboro women's basketball team ranks sixth in the first USA TODAY Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll released Tuesday, the highest preseason ranking in school history. The Fighting Scots finished last year ranked No. 9 following a 30-2 season. The team was ranked in the national Top 25 every week a year ago. Edinboro collected 533 voters points in the preseason poll, leaving it just two points out of the top five. Ashland, last year's national runner-up, collected 23 first place votes and stands atop the first rankings with 767 points, ahead of Bentley with 726. Pittsburg State, Rollins and the University of South Carolina-Aiken round out the top five. Edinboro begins the second five in front of Metropolitan State College of Denver and University of California-San Diego. Defending national champion Shaw ranks No. 9 and took the remaining eight first place votes while Clayton State completes the top 10. Edinboro fell to Shaw last March in the NCAA Atlantic Tournament Championship Game.
Glenville State received votes in the first national poll.
BORO SELECTED PSAC WEST FAVORITES
The Edinboro women's basketball team has been selected as the favorites to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division crown in the preseason coaches' poll, conference officials announced last week. Edinboro took six of the eight first-place votes to come in ahead of Gannon, which grabbed one first-place vote. Indiana (Pa.) stands third while California (Pa.) tallied the last first-place vote and stands fourth with Clarion rounding out the top five. Mercyhurst was sixth while Lock Haven and Slippery Rock complete the rankings.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
As Edinboro embarks on a new season and a quest for its third consecutive PSAC championship, the team's returners have some big shoes to fill. The Fighting Scots must replace three starters off last year's team as
Renee' Brown,
Micki Cerchiaro and
Raven Metz, all key figures in the program's 56-6 record the past two seasons, graduated last May. The departed trio accounted for 39 percent of Edinboro's offense last year and was also central to the team's often suffocating full court press. Metz was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year while Cerchiaro ranks fifth all-time in school history for steals and fourth in blocks. Brown is one of just seven Edinboro players to score over 1,000 points and pull down more than 730 rebounds.
ALL-AMERICANS HIGHLIGHT RETURNING LINEUP
While Edinboro must replace three-fifths of its starting lineup from last year, the cupboard isn't exactly bare. The Fighting Scots are led by a pair of All-American seniors in guard
Kiara Brown and center
Samantha Blazetic. Brown averaged a career-high 14.5 points per game and scored in double figures in 23 of 31 games played. She also recorded 100 assists and 79 steals while shooting 41.1 percent from the floor (160-of-389) and 81.1 percent (73-of-90) from the free throw line. Brown continued her stellar play in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament, averaging 17.3 points during the postseason. She led the team in shooting from beyond the arc, sinking 56 3's on the year. Following the season, Brown was named a First Team WBCA All-American and a Division II Bulletin Fourth Team All-American selection.
Joining Brown in returning for the 2012-13 season is fellow senior Blazetic, an honorable mention All-America selection last year. Blazetic led Edinboro in average points (14.6) and rebounds (7.1) while starting all of the Fighting Scots' 32 games. The school's all-time career leader in blocked shots, Blazetic finished the campaign with 81 blocks to bring her total to 221 in her three seasons with the Boro, the sixth-most in PSAC history.
In all, nine letterwinners from last season return this fall. Also back are key reserves in junior guard
Darche' Jackson 8.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 80 steals) and senior guard
Kerry Connolly (3.1 points, 16.6 minutes per game).
WELCOME BACK
While Edinboro returns only two starters from last year's PSAC champions, the team re-adds another starter from their 2010-11 championship squad. Redshirt sophomore guard
Laurel Lindsay was the only player to start all 30 games two years ago when she averaged 6.4 points and 2.5 rebounds with a team-best 111 assists as a freshman. Lindsay missed all of last season following knee surgery to repair a torn ACL.
Another player returning after missing nearly all of last season due to injury is redshirt sophomore guard
Hope Mancini. Mancini gives the team another strong perimeter shooter off the bench after shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc as a freshman. A foot injury cost her all but three games of last season.
RECORD-SETTING CAMPAIGN
Edinboro won a school record 30 games last year, posting a 30-2 overall record while reaching the Division II Sweet 16 and a spot in the Atlantic Regional Championship Game before falling to eventual national champion Shaw. Along with the most wins in program history, the Fighting Scots also established team record for steals (514) and blocks (178).
DEFENSE IS KEY
It's little secret that head coach
Stan Swank's pressing system has been key to Edinboro's run to the top of the conference and rise to national prominence. The Fighting Scots' hounding full-court press led Edinboro to the second-best turnover margin in the country at +8.31 a year ago (Glenville State, +8.33). That was due in large part to the Scots forcing an average of 16.1 steals per game, also second-best in the country (Fort Valley State, 18.0). Edinboro allowed just an average of 55.3 points per game last year.
SCORING MARGIN
Edinboro put on an often dominating performance last year, winning the first 24 games of the year while posting a 21-1 PSAC record. The Fighting Scots finished the year +19.2 in scoring margin, the second-best such mark in all of Division II behind only Alaska Anchorage (+21.9).
SENIORS APPROACH MILESTONES
Both
Kiara Brown and
Samantha Blazetic enter the year eyeing 1,000 career points. Brown needs just 14 points to reach 1,000 for her career including one season at California (Pa.) while Blazetic is 42 points away from the mark.
