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ERIE (Jan. 30, 2013) – A 24-7 Edinboro run over a 13-minute span bridging the first and second half allowed the No. 21 Fighting Scots (15-3, 12-2 PSAC) to break the game open and hold off a late rally attempt by rival Mercyhurst (5-13, 5-9) for a 63-46 victory on Wednesday at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
 
Kiara Brown poured in 25 points to lead all scorers and Samantha Blazetic tallied a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to key the Scots.
 
Edinboro took a nine point lead, 30-21, to intermission following a ragged, turnover-filled first half.
 
The Lakers held close for the opening period, staying within two possessions for the majority of the half. A layup from Kaylee Foster brought Mercyhurst within one, 17-16, with eight minutes left in the first half, but the Fighting Scots would finish the half on a 13-5 break.
 
Mercyhurst's zone defense presented problems for the Fighting Scots, forcing Edinboro into 17 first half turnovers. Edinboro was able to keep the lead during the opening stanza thanks to strong defense of its own and offense from Brown. The Scots limited Mercyhurst to 29 percent shooting from the floor (7-of-24) while forcing 14 turnovers in the first half. Brown delivered much of the offense, scoring 13 points in the opening period.
 
The Fighting Scots came out of halftime on an 11-2 sprint as Mercyhurst languished over 12 minutes without a field goal. An Adrienne Kloecker layup with 7:05 left in the first half would be the last basket for the Lakers until Dana Banda finally ended the drought with a lay-in 4:58 into the second half. During the 12:03 of game time making up the hosts' cold spell, Mercyhurst failed to connect on a shot from the floor, but turned the ball over 10 times.
 
After Edinboro stretched its lead to 18 points following its blitz to open the second half, Mercyhurst was able to chip its way back into the contest. An 11-2 run by the Lakers was capped by a layup from Alayna White to bring the Lakers back within single digits, 43-34, with over 10 minutes still to play.
 
Another Edinboro run would swing the game back into the hands of the visitors. A jumper from Aignee Freeland and a traditional three-point play from Blazetic allowed the Boro to stretch the advantage, beginning a 12-0 run.
 
Mercyhurst would not go away quietly, however. Edinboro enjoyed a 55-34 lead with 5:19 remaining and seemingly had the game completely in hand. Just three minutes later, though, that lead was down to nine as the Lakers ran off the next 12 points.
 
Turnovers were rampant on both sides and two back-to-back takeaways from the Scots finally put the game in hand. The Lakers had the ball, trailing by nine with two minutes left before a Laurel Lindsay steal gave the Boro back possession. A Lakers foul sent Brown to the line where she made the first, but following a miss on the second attempt, the senior guard came away with another steal leading to another trip to the line and a 13-point Edinboro lead.
 
Turnovers plagued both sides throughout as the two teams combined for 56 in all. Edinboro suffered a season-high 29 turnovers while forcing Mercyhurst into 27. A big difference came in the teams' ability to make turnovers equal points on the offensive end. Edinboro cashed in on 29 points off turnovers while Mercyhurst netted 17 points off Boro miscues.
 
Edinboro held the edge in shooting, 43 percent (23-54) to 34 percent (18-53) and a sizeable, 44-28 lead on the boards. The Fighting Scots also had seven blocks, led by Blazetic's four, while Mercyhurst's much smaller lineup did not swat a single shot.
 
Foster led Mercyhurst with 12 points and was the only Laker in double figure scoring.
 
Aignee Freeland added nine points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals for Edinboro.
 
The Fighting Scots travel to Clarion for their next matchup, a Saturday afternoon date with the Golden Eagles in the first meeting of the season between PSAC West rivals.
 
GAME NOTES: Blazetic moved into 15^th in all-time Edinboro scoring with 1,230 career points … Edinboro moved to 70-2 over the past three seasons when registering 60 or more points … the win avenged a 59-58 overtime loss at Mercyhurst last February. Edinboro now leads the all-time series, 40-11.