STORYLINE
Edinboro (10-3, 7-2 PSAC) begins PSAC West play in earnest as it welcomes nationally-ranked Gannon (15-1, 9-0) to McComb Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening. In many respects it is a role reversal from last January when the two schools met at the Hammermill Center in Erie. Then, Edinboro was undefeated and ranked fifth in the nation facing an upset-minded Gannon squad that stood second in the West Division. Edinboro was able to fend off the Golden Knights on that night, 72-62. This time around, Edinboro, which currently stands second in the PSAC West, will look to hand Gannon its first conference loss and gain ground by scoring its fifth straight victory over its local rival.
SCOUTING GANNON
The Golden Knights are one of the hottest teams in the nation as winners of 14 straight games, the longest winning streak for the program since winning 37 straight in 2009-10 when Gannon reached the NCAA Division II Final Four. The win streak has propelled Gannon to a No. 6 ranking in the latest WBCA USA Today Sports Coaches' Top 25. Gannon's only loss of the year came against the nation's top-ranked team – a 70-59 setback against Ashland on Nov. 10 in the Disney Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Ca. The Golden Knights began their season by defeating nationally-ranked UC San Diego as well as West Texas A&M in Anaheim. Before the season-opening trip, Gannon had already proven its strength by defeating a pair of Division I teams in exhibition play with victories at Kent State and the University at Buffalo.
Gannon owns a +14.4 scoring margin on the year, second-best in the PSAC only behind Bloomsburg. The best shooting team in the conference in terms of field goal percentage at 44.4 percent, the Knights are led by Brittany Batts' 13.6 points per game. Jen Papich (12.8 ppg), Mollie Sebald (11.1 ppg) and Nettie Blake (10.1 ppg) also average in double figure scoring. Batts leads the PSAC and stands third in the nation in three-point shooting at 49.6 percent (58-of-117) with her 58 three-pointers being the same exact amount as Edinboro has tallied as a team this season. She also has drained 23 more threes than any other player in the conference thus far on the year.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Edinboro leads, 28-18
Edinboro was able to get the best of its local rival in both meetings last season when the two teams were each nationally-ranked. The last time the squads met, it was at McComb Fieldhouse when then-No. 2 Edinboro came away with a 74-57 victory over then-No. 18 Gannon on Feb. 8, 2012. Gannon opened a seven-point lead at half (39-32), before Boro clamped down for a 42-18 second half edge to pull away late behind 26 points from
Renee' Brown.
Samantha Blazetic netted 23 points with six blocks. Jen Papich led Gannon with 18 points and seven rebounds. Edinboro earned a 72-62 win at the Hammermill Center on Jan. 11, 2012 in an entertaining match-up when
Kiara Brown poured in 24 points to lead all scorers. Doriyon Glass' 15 points paced Gannon. It was the second straight year Edinboro swept the season series between schools. Those wins ended a period of Gannon dominance – the Golden Knights had won the previous seven meetings between the schools dating to the 2003-04 campaign.
CAREER NIGHT FOR MANCINI
Redshirt sophomore
Hope Mancini recorded the best night of her career by pouring in a career-high 18 points in the Scots' 95-60 win over East Stroudsburg on Jan. 12. The total easily surpassed her previous best of 13 points set vs. Urbana on Dec. 19, 2010. Mancini provided a needed spark off the bench, helping ignite a 12-0 Boro run before halftime to take what was a one-point game and give the Scots a comfortable lead. In the process, Mancini, who missed all but three games following a foot injury last year, also set personal bests for field goals (6) and three-pointers made (4). Her 18 points were a team-high, also the first time Mancini has led Edinboro in scoring during her career.
CONNOLLY FILLS THE STAT SHEET
The East Stroudsburg victory was also a banner night for senior
Kerry Connolly. Connolly put in a do-it-all performance in the triumph, scoring 11 points and racked up career highs in assists (seven) and steals (six) as well as tied career-bests for rebounds (five) and three-pointers made (three). Connolly and Mancini were key reasons Edinboro out-scored ESU's bench, 46-6.
BACK TOGETHER AGAIN
Edinboro had strung together six straight wins between Dec. 4-Jan. 5 with the starting unit of
Darche' Jackson,
Kiara Brown,
Laurel Lindsay,
Aignee Freeland and
Samantha Blazetic. Jackson was out of the starting lineup for the Jan. 11 game vs. Kutztown following an illness and Edinboro saw its winning streak snapped with a 46-40 loss. Jackson returned to the starting five vs. East Stroudsburg the next night and the Boro moved to 7-0 with what has become their regular starting unit.
BACK TO THE TOP
Samantha Blazetic has moved back into possession of the PSAC scoring lead following last weekend's crossover games, passing teammate
Kiara Brown who had previously held the top spot. Blazetic's 16.0 ppg. is nearly a point per game more than second place Dana Wieller of Bloomsburg (15.2 ppg.). Brown slipped back to third at 14.9 ppg.
SHORING UP THE 'D'
The Fighting Scots began the season at 3-2 and were allowing a PSAC-worst 78.2 points per game during that span. Since allowing 84 points in a loss at Bloomsburg on Dec. 2, Edinboro's defensive results have been drastically different. In the past eight games, Edinboro has surrendered just 54.8 points per contest - a mark that would rank second-best in the conference if taken over the entire season. In that span, Edinboro has gone 7-1 with a margin of victory of +16.9.
MELTING THE DOWNTOWN ICE
The Fighting Scots have struggled for much of the season with their perimeter, shooting 24.5 percent as a team for the season heading into the Jan. 12 game vs. East Stroudsburg. On that night, Edinboro connected on a season-high 11 three-pointers, shooting at a 45.8 clip from beyond the arc (11-24). The production raised Edinboro's season three-point percentage to 26.9 percent (58-216).
DOUBLING UP
Senior
Samantha Blazetic leads the PSAC in scoring entering Wednesday's competition with 16.0 points per game and is third in rebounding with an average of 9.2 per contest. She had a string of four straight double-doubles broken in the victory vs. East Stroudsburg on Jan. 12 after recording her eighth double-double of the year against Kutztown the night before. The eight double-doubles are 10th-most in NCAA Division II. Blazetic has nearly equaled her double-double total in her previous three seasons (10) and now has 18 for her career at Edinboro.
MCCOMB WIN STREAK SNAPPED
The Fighting Scots saw their 22-game regular season winning streak come to an end at the hands of Kutztown in last Friday's 46-40 loss. Edinboro had not lost on the McComb Fieldhouse floor in a regular season game in nearly two full calendar years – its last defeat at home vs. a PSAC squad came on Jan. 26, 2011 vs. Indiana (Pa.). Edinboro's average margin of victory during its home winning streak was 22 points.
