Box Score (New/Sortable Format) INDIANA, Pa. (Feb. 20, 2013) – On the road, defense means a little extra. The 22^nd-ranked Edinboro women's basketball team benefitted from a stifling defensive performance at IUP on Wednesday evening and clinched a first round bye in the PSAC Tournament with a 57-45 victory over Indiana (Pa.).
 
Samantha Blazetic tied her own school record for blocks in a game with eight and the Fighting Scots limited IUP to a mere 19 percent shooting from the field (12-of-62). Blazetic continued her dominance over Edinboro blocks records – Wednesday marked her third game with eight blocks during her career and second against IUP this season. The Boro's all-time blocks leader also scored nine points and brought down seven rebounds in addition to her eight blocks.
 
The win improves Edinboro to 19-5 overall and 16-5 in PSAC play while IUP drops to 19-7 and 14-6.
 
Kiara Brown once again provided the offensive spark, burning IUP to the tune of 19 points while Darche' Jackson also netted nine points. Kerry Connolly and Laurel Lindsay each registered seven points as well.
 
Edinboro seized control of the contest with a strong start to the second half. Ahead by six at intermission, the Boro set the tone out of the locker room. Brown drained a deep 3-pointer following a Jackson steal and Aignee Freeland put in an uncontested layup for a 31-20 lead.
 
The Hawks would cut the deficit to six, but Edinboro began to pull away again thanks to the dynamic offense of Brown. The senior All-American put her skill set on full display with a floater high off the glass followed by another quick 3-pointer for a 40-27 edge with 13:37 remaining.
 
IUP mounted a final run to make things interesting. The hosts chipped away at the Boro lead which had grown to 14 following a Blazetic free throw. A 7-0 Hawks run cut the score to 47-40 with 5:40 to play, but it was Brown again who had the answer, this time with an assist. Brown found Jackson underneath the basket for an easy layup followed by a foul. Jackson completed the traditional 3-point play as the Scots turned the tables by starting a 7-0 break of their own. The lead stretched to double digits once more, IUP never again threatened.
 
The Crimson Hawks opened ice cold from the floor, connecting on three of its first 20 shot attempts over the first 13 minutes, but Edinboro could not pull away due to shooting struggles of its own and held a 15-10 advantage following free throws from Blazetic.
 
IUP cut the Boro lead to just one (17-16) following a jumper from Marita Mathe, but offense continued to be hard to come by for the injury-plagued hosts. IUP managed just 6-of-32 shooting during the first 20 minutes, due in large part to the presence of Blazetic inside. Blazetic swatted six shots during the first half alone.
 
Things remained close throughout the opening stanza, though, as the Boro shot just 23 percent (7-31). Two free throws from Laurel Lindsay wrapped the scoring in the opening period, giving Edinboro its largest lead at 26-20 heading into the break.
 
A pair of Erie natives paced IUP offensively – Lindsay Stamp led the Crimson Hawks with 18 points and Zhane' Brooks tallied 10 points. Amy Fairman added 10 points as well.
 
With the win, Edinboro locks up a first round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals of the upcoming PSAC Tournament. Under the new conference playoff format, the top two seeds from each division secure byes and quarterfinal hosting rights. The Fighting Scots now own a two-game lead over IUP with two games to play and own all tiebreakers after a season sweep.
 
The Fighting Scots return to action on Saturday by hosting Clarion at 1 p.m. inside McComb Fieldhouse.
 
GAME NOTES: Edinboro sweeps the season series over IUP for the second consecutive year and now owns a six-game winning streak over the Crimson Hawks … the Fighting Scots scored another key victory in the regional standings. Edinboro was ranked second in the first Atlantic Region rankings released before the game while IUP was fourth … Blazetic advances to a tie for 12^th all-time on the Edinboro scoring list (1,320 points) while Brown moves into 20^th (1,187 points) … the Scots had 13 assists on 18 made baskets, led by Jackson's four … the 19.3 percent (12-62) shot by IUP marks the second lowest by a Boro opponent all season – California (Pa.) shot 19.0 percent (12-63) on Feb. 6.