SCOUTING CLARION
The Golden Eagles got back to .500 on the season with their 87-77 victory at Lock Haven on Wednesday night. Clarion has alternated wins and losses since upsetting Edinboro at home on Feb. 2, losing at No. 9 Gannon, 79-59, last Saturday.
*Sophomore forward Hannah Heeter leads the Golden Eagles with 14.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. She leads the conference in rebounds and stands sixth in scoring. Heeter has been especially dangerous vs. Edinboro, averaging 16.7 points and 14.3 rebounds in three games vs. the Scots.
*Senior guard Raven Jones averages 9.4 points per game, but exploded for a career-high 31 points vs. Lock Haven on Wednesday.
*Clarion ranks 11th in the PSAC in scoring (64.9 ppg) and 12th in defense (68.3 ppg).
*The Golden Eagles are currently the fifth seed in the PSAC West and have secured their first post-season appearance since 2009.
*Despite the performance of Heeter on the boards, Clarion ranks 12th in the PSAC in rebounding at a -0.8 margin.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Edinboro leads, 44-29
A loss in the last meeting between these two squads snapped what was a six-game winning streak for Edinboro over Clarion. The Golden Eagles prevailed with an upset over then-No. 21 Edinboro on Feb. 2, 56-55, scoring their first win in the series since Feb. 28, 2009 when Clarion swept the season meetings. The Fighting Scots have held reign over the series when on their home floor – they're 14-4 at McComb Fieldhouse vs. Clarion since the 1994-95 season.

WHEN LAST WE MET
Cold shooting from Edinboro and a dominant performance by Hannah Heeter resulted in a 56-55 upset victory by Clarion on Feb. 2 at Tippin Gym. The Fighting Scots found themselves fighting from behind for the majority of the evening and could never find their touch from the field, shooting just 29.6 percent (21-for-71) for the game. The Golden Eagles simply had too much from Heeter for Edinboro to overcome. The sophomore, who went for 20 points and 22 rebounds in the second meeting between the schools a season ago, finished with 16 points and 19 boards. Edinboro grabbed a two-point lead (52-50) following a free throw from Samantha Blazetic, but scored just three points over the final 2:13 – a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Kiara Brown that came as too little, too late. Lauren Hippo attempted to thwart Clarion's upset thoughts by posting a career-high 12 points in the defeat.
 
LAST TIME OUT
In their 57-45 win at IUP on Wednesday, the hosts chipped away at the Boro lead which had grown to 14 in the second half. A 7-0 Hawks run cut the score to 47-40 with 5:40 to play, but it was Kiara Brown dishing to Darche' Jackson to start a run to put the Hawks away. 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. Brown had a game-high 19 points, Blazetic added nine, Jackson seven points while Kerry Connolly and Laurel Lindsay each had seven points.
 
FOOD DRIVE
The Edinboro University Athletic Department will hold its annual basketball Food Drive on Saturday, February 23 when Clarion visits McComb Fieldhouse.  The women's game gets underway at 1 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 3 p.m.  Anyone donating a non-perishable food item will receive FREE admission to the doubleheader.

In addition, the collection bin will be available in the McComb lobby starting on Wednesday, February 20, and will remain out through Wednesday, February 27.  We encourage individuals to stop by and donate any items during the day.  All items will be turned over to the Edinboro Food Bank, and these items have traditionally remained in the area to benefit Edinboro University students over break. 

PSAC FIRST ROUND BYE LOCKED UP
Edinboro secured a first round bye in the upcoming PSAC Tournament with its victory on Wednesday vs. IUP. The win assures the Fighting Scots of one of the top two seeds in the PSAC West which receives a first round bye and a home quarterfinal game under the conference's new playoff format. On March 2 the tournament begins with the No. 3 and No. 6 and No. 4 and No. 5 seeds from each division squaring off while the top two seeds await their home games on March 5.

BORO QUICK HITS
*Edinboro limited IUP to 19.4 percent shooting from the floor (12-of-62) on Wednesday, the second-lowest shooting performance by a Boro opponent this season. California (Pa.) shot 19.0 percent (12-63) in a Scots win on Feb. 6.
*The Fighting Scots recorded 11 blocks at IUP, led by Samantha Blazetic's eight. Edinboro is averaging 5.5 blocks per game for the year, second-most in the PSAC (Millersville, 6.1).
*Kiara Brown scored a game-high 19 points at IUP on Wednesday. She's now tallied double-digit points in 21 of 24 games this season.
*With her 19 points last time out, Brown now has 412 points for the season, a new career-high.
*The Boro defense forced 18 turnovers Wednesday and own a +4.8 turnover margin for the year, third in the PSAC. Opponents have committed at least 17 turnovers in all 24 games this year.
 
DON'T TURN AWAY CHARITY
Edinboro has converted on 45-of-51 shots at the line over the past two games, a 88.2 percent clip.
Edinboro shot a season-best 94.4 percent from the free throw line (17-of-18) last Wednesday at Gannon. Junior Darche' Jackson led the Scots by shooting 6-of-6 at the line, a new career-best. Edinboro shoots 75.4 percent from the line this season, second best in the PSAC (Bloomsburg, 76.8).
 
PROTECT THE PERIMETER
The Fighting Scots stand second in the conference in 3-point field goal defense with opponents averaging 27.1 percent shooting from beyond the three-point line this year.. Edinboro has surrendered 89 3-pointers to opponents, third-lowest in the PSAC, and have held opposing teams without single 3-pointer in five separate games.
 
ONE IS NOT A STREAK
Edinboro kept an impressive streak alive with its win at Slippery Rock last Saturday. The Fighting Scots got back on the winning track after losing at Gannon last Wednesday and continued their streak of games without back-to-back losses. It has been nearly three years exactly since the Scots suffered consecutive losses - they have not lost back-to-back games since February 2010 when Edinboro lost three straight between Feb. 17-24, 2010.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
The Fighting Scots continue to be ranked in the national WBCA USA TODAY Sports Top 25 this week, holding down the No. 22 spot. Edinboro is one of two ranked PSAC teams along with No. 9 Gannon. Edinboro also was ranked second in the first Atlantic Regional rankings that were released on Wednesday. The regional standings help decide the eight squads that will advance into the NCAA Division II Tournament from the Atlantic Region. Conference champions from the PSAC, CIAA and WVIAC earn automatic bids with the regional rankings determining the at-large berths.

BORO DEFENSE CONTINUES TO IMPROVE
Edinboro ranks  sixth in the PSAC in defense, allowing 60.0 ppg. After allowing 74.4 ppg through the first five games of the year, Boro opponents have averaged just 55.2 ppg in the 19 games since, a total that would rank number one overall in the PSAC over the full season.  Gannon's 71 points on Feb. 13 represent the first time an opponent has scored 70 or more vs. Edinboro since Bloomsburg did so in an 84-59 loss on Dec. 2.

GET THAT OUT OF HERE
During the win at IUP on Wednesday, senior Samantha Blazetic tied her own school record for blocks in a game with eight. She continued her dominance over the Edinboro blocks all-time records – the only player to record eight blocks in a game, she's now accomplished the feat three times. Blazetic first had eight blocks in a 2010 game vs. Clarion and repeated the tally earlier this season – also against IUP, on Jan. 23. She has 282 career blocks entering Saturday, third-most all-time in PSAC history and 123 more than any other Edinboro player in the history of the program.