JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (January 24, 2015) - Aignee' Freeland scored a season-high 29 points as the Edinboro women's basketball team defeated Pitt-Johnstown 86-75 on Saturday afternoon. Freeland shot 12-for-13 from the floor and 5-for-6 at the free throw line. The Fighting Scots improved to 13-5 overall and 10-4 in the PSAC West while the Lady Cats fell to 9-9 overall and 6-8 in the PSAC West.

Edinboro never relinquished the lead following a Nicole Johnson layup with 15:06 remaining in the first half to make it an 8-7 game. The Fighting Scots continued to gradually add to the lead, eventually taking a 37-25 lead into halftime.
 

The Scots forced 14 first half Lady Cat turnovers and capitalized with 20 points off turnovers. Edinboro's top three scorers entering the game, Lauren Hippo, Laurel Lindsay, and Valerie Majewski combined to shoot 2-for-13 from the field in the first half but Edinboro's bench picked up the slack. Hope Mancini led all Fighting Scots with 10 points as the Scots bench scored 22 points at the break on 6-for-11 shooting.

Edinboro stormed out of the gates in the second half. The Fighting Scots went on a 19-5 run to begin the final frame with Freeland and Hippo scoring all 19 points. Hippo scored seven points while Freeland scored 12 points including the last six points to give Edinboro a 56-30 lead with 14:24 left to play.

The Fighting Scots led by double-digits the rest of the game. The Lady Cats scored seven points in the final 41 seconds to bring the final result to 86-75.

Edinboro controlled the paint outscoring Pitt-Johnstown 48-34 in the key. The Fighting Scots also ultimately forced 21 turnovers and outscored the Lady Cats 32-9 in points off turnovers.

The Fighting Scots shot 33-for-61 (54.1 percent) from the floor while the Lady Cats finished 26-for-50 (52.0 percent) shooting. Pitt-Johnstown shot 9-for-15 (60.0 percent) on 3-pointers while Edinboro shot 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

Freeland's impressive performance was just two points shy of her career-high. She scored 31 points at California (Pa.) last season on December 7, 2013. The 12 field goals made were also a season-high for Freeland as she shot 92.3 percent from the floor. The junior forward/center also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Freeland is now at 914 career points, 86 shy of becoming the 30^th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.

Mancini finished with 14 points off the bench on 5-for-9 shooting, 2-for-4 on 3-pointers, and making both of her free throw attempts. The graduate student guard also had four assists, one shy of her career-high.

Lindsay improved her career scoring total to 1,041 points with 12 points, passing Lachelle Crawl on the Edinboro all-time scoring list for 26^th all-time. The graduate student guard/forward also had six rebounds and six assists.

Maggie Moore was the final Fighting Scot to score in double-figures as she finished with a career-high 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting and 2-for-2 at the free throw line.
Hippo finished the game with nine points, the first time in the last 11 games she did not score in double figures. However, the junior guard/forward did make one 3-pointer which put her into a tie with Renee' Brown for 10^th in school history for 3-pointers made at 94 3-pointers makes from beyond the arc.

Majewski struggled to find her shot on Saturday. The senior guard finished 0-for-8 shooting and missed her one 3-point attempt. This was the first time Majewski has failed to score in a game in a Fighting Scots uniform. She added four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Kelsey Sleighter led Pitt-Johnstown with 28 points. The senior guard shot 8-for-11 from the field, 4-for-5 on 3-pointers, and a perfect 8-for-8 on free throw attempts. She also dished out a team-high five assists and pulled down three rebounds.

Three other Lady Cats scored in double figures as Nicole Carmen scored 15 points, Jasmine Harper finished with 12 points, and Olivia Rizzo rounded out the group with 10 points.

Edinboro's next game is on Wednesday, January 28 against Seton Hill. The Griffins come to McComb Fieldhouse for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off against the Fighting Scots. Seton Hill lost 81-62 earlier today against Gannon.