STORYLINE
The Edinboro women's basketball team plays host to the final PSAC crossover weekend of the season when East Division foes Kutztown and East Stroudsburg visit on Friday and Saturday. The Fighting Scots will attempt to extend their season-long six-game winning streak, but will face a Kutztown team that is no stranger to upsets as the Golden Bears knocked off No. 12 Indiana (Pa.) in its last game. 

SCOUTING KUTZTOWN
Kutztown enters Friday's matchup at 6-5 on the season and 4-3 in conference play and fresh off their biggest victory of the season – a 68-62 triumph over No. 12 Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday evening at home. Just 24 hours removed from a tough 69-65 loss at the hands of California (Pa.), Kutztown attacked the basket and was able to force IUP into early foul trouble. Freshman guard Natalya Lee led the Golden Bears with 18 points while junior guard Alyssa Bonenberger and junior forward Avery Hodgson each added 10.
 
For the year, Kutztown has two players averaging in double figure scoring – Lee (10.7 ppg) and senior guard Ashley Wood (11.8 ppg), while Bonenberger paces the Golden Bears on the glass with an average of 8.2 rebounds per contest. When leading late Kutztown has been able to salt away games by averaging 74.4 percent at the free throw line, second in the PSAC only to Bloomsburg (77.1 percent).  Kutztown was picked to finish seventh in the PSAC East in the preseason coaches' poll while Wood landed on the preseason all-conference team.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE GOLDEN BEARS
Edinboro has dominated the all-time series against PSAC East foe Kutztown, winning 17 out of the 18 meetings between schools. The Fighting Scots have won 15 straight over the Golden Bears including last year's 82-58 win at McComb Fieldhouse on Jan. 6, 2012. On that night Kiara Brown and Samantha Blazetic each had 14 points for the Boro while Darche' Jackson added 13. Ashley Wood was the leading returning scorer for Kutztown that night with eight points. The only time the Golden Bears have gotten the upper hand against Edinboro came in a 79-64 decision at Kutztown during the 1990-91 season.
 
SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG
East Stroudsburg begins the weekend with a 4-7 overall record including a 3-4 mark in the conference before playing Slippery Rock and Edinboro this weekend. The Warriors lost a pair of crossover games last weekend – 67-49 to No. 12 Indiana (Pa.) and 65-50 to California (Pa.) – at home. Scoring has been an issue for the Warriors as they average just 59.4 points per game and have just one player averaging in double figures, sophomore forward Jessica Martin (11.9 ppg).  Martin was last year's PSAC East Freshman of the Year. While the Warriors have struggled putting the ball in the basket, they have played strong defense this season. Through 11 games, ESU allowed opponents 61.5 points per contest, sixth-best in the PSAC. ESU is in its third season under head coach Maureen Smith, who led the Warriors to a seven-win improvement in her second season as they finished 11-15 a year ago. The Warriors were picked to finish fifth in the PSAC East as part of the preseason coaches' poll.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WARRIORS
The Fighting Scots continued their ownership of the all-time series vs. East Stroudsburg with their 70-50 victory on Jan. 7, 2012 at McComb Fieldhouse in the last meeting between the schools. Kiara Brown led the way with 15 points for Edinboro and Jessica Martin was the leading scorer for ESU with 14 points. That win was the 12th straight for the Boro over ESU and moved Edinboro to 12-1 all-time vs. the Warriors. The only win for East Stroudsburg in the series came in the very first meeting between the schools – a 61-60 victory in 1981.
 
BROWN LIGHTS UP THE SCOREBOARD AT MILLERSVILLE
The performance by senior Kiara Brown in Edinboro's 69-64 win at Millersville on Saturday was one to remember. Brown poured in 31 points to help the Boro fend off a furious second half rally by Millersville. The Ambridge, Pa. native was at her best down the stretch – scoring 20 of Edinboro's 37 second half points as the Marauders staged their comeback attempt. The output marked a new career-high for Brown, besting her previous high of 27 set during a win over Indiana (Pa.) last season. The showing was also perhaps the strongest by any PSAC player this season as the 31 points are the most by any conference player so far during the 2012-13 campaign. She needs just 37 points to hit 1,000 as a Fighting Scot.
 
BORO SWEEPS PSAC WEST WEEKLY AWARDS
The Edinboro women's basketball team swept the weekly PSAC West awards as senior guard Kiara Brown earned Athlete of the Week honors while forward Aignee Freeland captured Freshman of the Week for the third time this season. For the weekend, Brown averaged 24 points while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor (14 of 31) and nearly 81 percent from the line (17-21). While the offensive numbers were impressive, Brown also added to her PSAC-leading steals total with five steals along with eight rebounds and seven assists. She now leads the conference in both scoring (17.1 ppg) and steals (3.4 spg) through 11 games this season.
 
Freeland, meanwhile, continued her impressive debut season for the Fighting Scots. She played 77 of a possible 80 minutes during the weekend wins, scoring eight points with nine rebounds and a career-high four blocks at Millersville. At Shippensburg, she scored six points and pulled down a career-best 12 boards with three blocks. Freeland was especially dominant on the offensive glass with 11 offensive rebounds during the weekend. For the week, she averaged seven points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 5 of 10 from the floor and also was 4-4 at the line.
 
TOPS IN OFFENSE
As the calendar turns to 2013, the Fighting Scots completed 2012 much in the way they stood for the 2011-12 season, Edinboro is back at the top of the league in scoring. Through 11 games, the Fighting Scots are averaging a PSAC-best 76.1 points per game, ahead of second-place Bloomsburg's 75.1. Edinboro is led by the top two leading scorers in the conference - Kiara Brown (17.1 ppg) and Samantha Blazetic (16.5 ppg).

WELCOME HOME
Edinboro returns home to McComb Fieldhouse for the final PSAC crossover weekend of the season. The home court advantage has been in full display for the Scots in the past two seasons as they have won 22 straight regular season games on the McComb court with their last setback coming nearly two full calendar years ago – a 69-56 loss to Indiana (Pa.) on Jan. 26, 2011.
 
SHORING UP THE 'D'
A key to Edinboro's current six-game winning streak has been the difference on defense. 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 has allowed opponents just 55.3 points per game. That total would put Edinboro with the second-lowest points allowed per contest in the PSAC.
 
DOUBLING UP
Senior Samantha Blazetic entered last weekend leading the PSAC in scoring and finished the crossover games trailing only teammate Kiara Brown. While Blazetic is averaging 16.5 points per game with 9.4 rebounds through 11 games, she has also recorded seven double-doubles, including three in a row. In her seven double-double performances, Blazetic is averaging 19 points and 11.4 rebounds.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
Senior Samantha Blazetic hit a career milestone during the Nov. 24 win vs. Wayne State as she hit 1,000 points for her career. Blazetic reached 1,000 points with a free throw late in the first half.
 
Blazetic already owns the school record for blocks and moved into the top five on the all-time PSAC swats list when she recorded three blocks in the victory at Shippensburg on Jan. 4. She now has 242 for her career with Carlia Jones' 253 next in sight.
 
She also recently moved into 20th place on the all-time Edinboro scoring list (1,139) and will soon crack the top 10 in rebounding. Blazetic needs 14 rebounds to take over 10th on the list as she enters Friday with 671.
 
Kiara Brown has the opportunity to hit the 1,000-point mark in an Edinboro uniform this weekend. Following a 31-point performance at Millersville last Saturday, Brown stands at 963 points with the Boro. She hit the 1,000-point mark as a college player earlier this year and has 1,174 points in college after spending her freshman year at California (Pa.) and then transferring to Edinboro.
 
MISS VERSATILITY
Redshirt sophomore Laurel Lindsay has contributed far beyond just numbers that show up in the box score this season. Lindsay's return from ACL surgery last year has enabled head coach Stan Swank flexibility with his lineup. Her versatility was on full display on Jan. 5 at Millersville when she played all five positions during the game. She finished with seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
 
EASTERN DOMINATION
The Fighting Scots have been dominant against teams from the PSAC East in recent years. Dating back to the 2005-06 season, Edinboro is 47-9 against PSAC East opponents. This weekend's games against Kutztown and East Stroudsburg mark the final crossovers of the season before the PSAC West slate begins in earnest when Gannon visits McComb Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Jan. 16.
 
PUTTING IN THE TIME
Freshman Aignee Freeland first joined the Scots starting lineup in a victory over Davis & Elkins on Dec. 4. During the six games she has been a part of the starting five, Freeland has averaged the most minutes of any player on the team – a whopping 33.8 minutes per game. In last weekend's crossover games at Shippensburg and Millersville, Freeland played 77 out of a possible 80 minutes of game time. In the first five games of the year, Freeland averaged 14.0 minutes off the bench and Edinboro posted a 3-2 record. Since joining the starting lineup, Edinboro is 6-0.
 
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION
Edinboro enters the weekend riding a season-best six-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 six games they've played as a starting unit.