Box Score (New/Sortable Format) ERIE, Pa. (March 15, 2013) – An extremely gutsy performance from senior Samantha Blazetic and a career-high 20 points from freshman Aignee Freeland were not enough for second-seeded Edinboro to thwart an NCAA Tournament Atlantic Regional First Round upset by No. 7 California (Pa.), 80-72, Friday at the Hammermill Center.

The loss ends Edinboro's season at 22-7 while Cal U moves to 21-8 and will play No. 6 Glenville State, which defeated No. 3 Shaw in the first game of the day, on Saturday evening.

Blazetic, playing on an injured knee suffered last week, tallied 11 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench after missing the PSAC semifinal game at Bloomsburg last Saturday. Darche' Jackson tallied 19 points and six assists and Laurel Lindsay registered 10 points and six assists for the Boro.

The Fighting Scots and Vulcans traded the lead during the early going with Freeland's jumper in the paint giving the Boro an 18-16 lead with 13:21 remaining in the half. That would turn out to be the final lead of the game for the Scots. The Vulcans then broke for a 10-2 run fueled by eight points from Stephanie Michael.

It was that kind of day for Michael. Edinboro couldn't find an answer for the All-PSAC West senior guard who would finish with a game-high 25 points.

With Blazetic fighting injury, the Scots were forced to change their game plan, unable to use their often stifling press at will. The result was Cal suffering just 12 turnovers. Edinboro entered the game forcing opponents into more than 22 turnovers per game and had not caused fewer than 17 turnovers in any contest this season.

“We're used to forcing more turnovers. Defensively we were not in attack mode,” Edinboro head coach Stan Swank said. “We were doing things we don't normally do. It's very difficult to change your game plan after you've done something all year long.”


The Vulcans did not allow any Boro momentum to carry over into the second period, scoring the first four points of the second half to extend their lead to 12. The Cal edge would grow to as much as 15 on a trey from Elena Antonenko (53-38).

An 8-0 run would get the Boro back in the game, though. Down 57-44, Blazetic started the burst with a score in the paint. Brown and Freeland would combine for the rest of the drive and following a pair of free throws from the freshman, Edinboro had cut the score to 57-52 with still 10:54 to play.

Cal answered with what worked all day long – a connection from beyond the arc. Chelsea McKnight's 3-pointer stopped the Boro drive, stretching the lead back to eight. Edinboro would never draw any closer.

The Vulcans shot 47.5 percent for the game (29-of-61) compared to Edinboro's 45.5 percent (25-55). Cal was able to distance itself throughout the contest by hitting nine 3-pointers on the day. Cal's defense limited PSAC leading scorer Kiara Brown to five points.

Another difference came on the boards – Cal outrebounded the Boro by a 37-31 margin and hauled in 15 offensive rebounds. Ashley Hines had a dominant performance on the glass for the Vulcans with 15 rebounds, including seven offensive boards, to go along with nine points.

“We got hurt a little by offensive rebounds,” Swank said. “The offensive rebounds and keeping the ball alive kept giving them other opportunities.”

Along with Michael's 25 points, Cal also picked up 14 points from Ryah Gadson and 13 points from Mahady.

GAME NOTES: Edinboro's senior class of Blazetic, Brown and Kerry Connolly finish their Fighting Scots careers at 94-25 over the past four seasons. That mark is the best four-year period in school history … the loss snaps an eight-game winning streak for the Boro over Cal U … Glenville State will look to avenge an early season loss to Cal after defeating two-time defending regional champion Shaw, 111-86, in the first game of the afternoon … Blazetic broke a tie for fourth in Boro's all-time rebounding and finishes with 784. Her 1,372 career points are 10th all-time … Brown finishes 14th on the Boro scoring list with 1,278 points.