STORYLINE
The No. 21 Fighting Scots (15-3, 12-2) are riding a six-game winning streak after scoring a 63-46 victory at local rival Mercyhurst on Wednesday evening. Edinboro returned to the national Top 25 this past Tuesday for the first time since dropping out in early December. Clarion, meanwhile, has lost two games in a row to fall below .500 at 9-11. Offensive woes have been a problem in the past two games for Clarion as the Golden Eagles did not reach the 50-point mark in losses to No. 7 Gannon (68-47) and at California (69-44) in their past two outings.
 
SCOUTING CLARION
The Golden Eagles are led by one of the conference's best players in sophomore forward Hannah Heeter, who averages a double-double with 14.2 ppg and 12.4 rpg. Heeter ranks fifth in the PSAC in scoring and is the only player in the conference to average more than 10 rebounds per contest. She also is first in PSAC field goal percentage at 51.8 percent (85-for-164). Heeter is the only Clarion player to average in double figures as three other players - Tania Holmes (7.7), Raven Jones (7.7) and Mariah Gador (7.3) all average over seven points per game. The Golden Eagles rank 10th in the PSAC in scoring (65.0 ppg) but have struggled offensively as of late, shooting 22 percent in a loss to No. 7 Gannon, including 2-of-21 from 3, and 29 percent in a defeat at Cal in the past week. Clarion still ranks fifth in the conference in field goal percentage, however, at 41.5 percent on the year. One area to watch may be 3-point shooting - Edinboro has struggled beyond the arc, ranking 13th in the PSAC at 26.4 percent, but Clarion has struggled to guard the perimeter, ranking 16th in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to average 33.2 percent from long range.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Edinboro leads, 44-28
Edinboro has notched the last six victories in the series against their PSAC West counterpart, sweeping the season series in the past three years.  The last time the two squads met at Tippin Gym, Clarion held tight with then-No. 2 Edinboro before the Scots came away with a 72-60 victory. Renee' Brown scored 22 points, Kiara Brown had 20 and Samantha Blazetic netted 13, but Edinboro was held to 37.5 shooting from the floor (24-64). Hannah Heeter had a huge game -- 20 points and 22 rebounds to lead Clarion. Clarion's last victory in the series came at Edinboro, 80-65, on Feb. 28, 2009. Clarion swept the 2009 series before Edinboro began its run of dominance.
 
EDINBORO JUMPS BACK INTO NATIONAL TOP 25
The Edinboro women's basketball team jumped back into the USA TODAY Sports Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 this week, taking the No. 21 spot in the latest national poll. A pair of victories over Top 25-ranked squads Gannon and Indiana (Pa.) in the past two weeks along with a five-game winning streak helped the Scots re-appear in the national poll with a record of 14-3 overall and 11-2 in the PSAC play. It marks Edinboro's first appearance in the national Top 25 since the Nov. 27 poll. Edinboro's absence in the last six Top 25 polls broke a string of 22 consecutive weeks ranked between Feb. 22, 2011 and Nov. 27, 2012.
 
TURNOVER-CAUSING MACHINE
The Fighting Scots have proven to be a turnover-creating machine so far this season, forcing opponents into 23.1 turnovers per game. Edinboro created 27 turnovers against Mercyhurst on Wednesday. No opponent thus far has been immune to the turnover barrage vs. Edinboro as the Fighting Scots have caused 17 turnovers or more in every game this year.
 
HOW THE WEST WAS WON
With their win at Mercyhurst on Wednesday, Edinboro scored its sixth straight win vs. PSAC West opposition this year and ninth consecutive victory overall dating back to last year. The success vs. the West goes back much further, though. The last time local rivals Edinboro and Mercyhurst met, the Lakers came away with a stunning upset of the then-No. 2 and unbeaten Fighting Scots, 59-58 in overtime on Feb. 22, 2012. That loss snapped a 24-0 start to the season by Edinboro. It also brought the Scots' 23-game winning streak vs. PSAC West teams to an end. That win streak was more than a year long, dating to Jan. 29, 2011. The Mercyhurst loss was an aberration in what has been a stretch of domination against West Division teams by the two-time conference champion Fighting Scots. Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, Edinboro has recorded a 36-2 record vs. the PSAC West.
 
PLAYOFFS? WE'RE TALKING PLAYOFFS?
As the calendar turns to February, the PSAC playoff picture is slowly coming into focus. With just eight games remaining in the regular season, Edinboro enters Saturday's game in sole possession of second place in the PSAC West, one game behind Gannon, and two games clear of third place IUP. Holding down a top-two spot becomes crucial this year as the PSAC adopts a new playoff format. Six teams from each division will qualify for the postseason tournament with the top two seeds earning byes and second round home games. First round play will begin on Saturday, March 2 with #6 at #3 and #5 at #4 seeds within the respective divisions.  On Tuesday, March 5 the 6/3 winner will travel to the #2 seed and the 5/4 winner will travel to the #1 seed again within the respective division.  The PSAC Semifinals will be conducted on March 8 with the bracket established to show the #2 seed/#1 seed from opposite divisions on the same side  of the bracket. The only team locked into the PSAC playoffs so far is Gannon, which locked up a spot with a win at Slippery Rock on Wednesday.