STORYLINE
The Fighting Scots return from a more than two-week layoff for the holidays by facing a pair of tough tests in the third crossover portion of the schedule this season. Edinboro (7-2, 4-1 PSAC) stands in a tie for second place in the PSAC West with Indiana (Pa.) behind Gannon and travels east to play against the leader from the East Division, Millersville (7-2, 4-1) on Saturday just 24 hours after playing Shippensburg, which is tied for second in the East at 7-3, 4-2. Both Friday and Saturday's games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. tip offs with live stats links found above.

SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG
The Raiders begin 2013 looking to avoid a losing streak as they ended 2012 with a loss to nationally-ranked Gannon of the PSAC West, 73-61, on Dec. 19. That loss followed a 66-49 victory over Mercyhurst the previous night with both games coming at home. In all, it has been a strong start to the season for the Raiders, finishing 2012 with a 7-3 record and 3-2 mark in the PSAC. After starting the year 1-1 with a win over Washington Adventist and loss to Davis & Elkins, Shippensburg then reeled off five straight victories between Nov. 17 and Dec. 2, including two wins away from the United States mainland -- the Raiders played in Hawaii over Thanksgiving. There, Shippensburg defeated BYU-Hawaii, 82-57, and Hawaii-Hilo, 52-50.

Shippensburg boasts a balanced scoring attack with four players averaging in double figures – freshman center Stephanie Knauer, a former all-state player from Hatfield, leads the team at 13.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Junior guard Sarah Strybuc (13.7 ppg), and twin senior guards Dana Wert (12.6 ppg) and Shawna Wert (11.6 ppg) are also averaging double-figure scoring. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. SHIPPENSBURG
Shippensburg has always posed a strong challenge for the Fighting Scots, leading the all-time series, 28-23. Led by 14th-year head coach Kristy Trn, the Raiders gave Edinboro all it wanted in its trip East a season ago. Edinboro had far and away one of its toughest challenges as part of its 30-2 season last year at Shippensburg when it rallied late for a 63-61 victory on Dec. 3, 2011. Edinboro has won back-to-back games over its PSAC East foe in the past two seasons, but the teams had not met since the 2007-08 season before that, when Shippensburg took a 72-65 victory at home.

SCOUTING MILLERSVILLE
Millersville enters the weekend, like Edinboro, receiving votes in the USA TODAY Sports WBCA Top 25 national poll following a 7-2 start to the season. While Edinboro has been off since Dec. 19, the Marauders are fresh off a trip to Louisville, Ky. for the Bellarmine Classic earlier this week. Millersville suffered just its second loss of the year, 73-66, at the hands of host Ballarmine on Sunday before bouncing back for a 78-61 win over Missouri S&T on Monday. Millersville has already scored wins over PSAC West members Lock Haven, Clarion and Mercyhurst and also took No. 8 Gannon to the limit in a 78-76 overtime loss on Dec. 18 at Pucillo Gymansium. Currently leading the PSAC East division, Millersville was picked to finish third in the preseason coaches' poll after finishing the 2011-12 campaign at 16-11 overall and 13-9 in the PSAC.

Four players average in double figures for Millersville, led by senior forward Aurielle Mosley's 14.6 points per game. Redshirt sophomore Carly Gallagher (13.1 ppg), senior Mashira Newman (12.9 ppg) and junior Senada Mehmedovic (10.7) are also strong scoring threats. As a team, Millersville is third in the PSAC in points per contest (74.2) and boasts solid outside shooting, connecting on 34.4 percent of shots from beyond the arc, the third-best mark in the conference. Defensively, Millersville, led by Mosley, the school's all-time blocks leader, leads the PSAC in blocks (7.22 per game) and allows opponents to shoot just 34.9 percent from the field.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MILLERSVILLE
Millersville leads the all-time series, 9-7, but Edinboro has been in control of the series in recent years, winning three of the last four match-ups. Last season, Edinboro dominated Millersville at McComb Fieldhouse with a 71-43 victory on Dec. 10, 2011. Darche' Jackson led all scorers with 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Scots and Samantha Blazetic tallied 14 points and nine boards. The last time the two squads met at Millersville, the then-nationally ranked Marauders held on for a 51-48 victory on Jan. 9, 2011. Mashira Newman registered 14 points and Aurielle Mosley had 11 for Millersville and Jackson had 11 for Edinboro.
 
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION
Edinboro enters the weekend riding a season-best four-game winning streak. The streak began when head coach Stan Swank tinkered with the Scots starting lineup, moving junior guard Darche' Jackson and freshman forward Aignee Freeland into the starting five for the Davis & Elkins game on Dec. 4.  The lineup of Jackson, Freeland, Kiara Brown, Laurel Lindsay and Samantha Blazetic has won all four games they've played as a starting unit.

TOPS IN OFFENSE
As the calendar turns to 2013, the Fighting Scots complete 2012 much in the way they stood for the entire year - at the top of the PSAC in scoring offense. After leading the PSAC at 74.4 points per game for the 2011-12 season, Edinboro is back at the top of the league in scoring. Through nine games, the Fighting Scots are averaging a PSAC-best 78.3 points per game, ahead of second-place  Bloomsburg's 75.6.

SPEAKING OF SCORING
While Edinboro leads the PSAC as a team in scoring, the Fighting Scots also boast the top two scoring threats in the conference this season. All-American seniors Samantha Blazetic and Kiara Brown are one and two on the conference scoring list. Blazetic averages 17.2 points and Brown checks in at 15.6. Darche' Jackson gives Edinboro a third player in the top 15 on the conference charts at 12.1 ppg.

SHARING IS CARING
The Fighting Scots rank second in the PSAC in assists this season at 16.89 per game, behind only West Chester's 17.75. Two Scots stand inside the conference top 10 individually – Darche' Jackson (fifth, 4.1 apg) and Kiara Brown (10th, 3.1 apg).
 
HAPPY TRAVELS EAST
The Fighting Scots have been dominant against teams from the PSAC East in recent years. Dating back to the 2005-06 season, Edinboro is 45-9 against PSAC East opponents. The Fighting Scots have four games remaining against East Division teams – this weekend at Shippensburg and Millersville before hosting the final crossover weekend of the season Jan. 11-12 vs. Kutztown and East Stroudsburg. 

KEEPING THEIR HEADS ABOVE WATER
With their win over Wayne State on Nov. 24, the Fighting Scots moved back above .500 at 2-1 on the season. The victory kept Edinboro's streak of playing at .500 or above alive - the last time the Scots were below .500 was when they lost two consecutive games to finish the 2008-09 season at 13-14. As the Fighting Scots enter this crossover weekend at 7-2, they are assured of playing their 100th consecutive game with a record of .500 or better when they tip off at Millersville on Saturday.