EDINBORO, Pa. (January 28, 2015) - The Edinboro women's basketball team defeated Seton Hill 86-73 behind a season-high 13 3-pointers made Wednesday night in McComb Fieldhouse. Lauren Hippo and Valerie Majewski combined for nine 3-pointers as the former led all players with a season-high 24 points. The Fighting Scots improved to 14-5 overall and 11-4 in the PSAC West with their third straight victory. The Griffins dropped to 8-12 and 5-10 in conference.

 

Edinboro jumped out to an early advantage with a 21-5 run beginning at the 16 minute mark. Hippo broke a 7-7 tie with a 3-pointer. The Fighting Scots scored 10 straight points from the 12:51 mark to 11:01 left in the first half. Hope Mancini and Majewski each made 3-pointers and Aignee' Freeland capped off the run with the final four points. Edinboro led 28-12 and would lead by double-digits the rest of the first half.

Hippo capped off the first half with a 3-pointer from 40-feet out to give the Scots a 49-34 halftime lead. The 49 points tied their highest scoring half this season, scoring 49 points in the second half last Saturday at Pitt-Johnstown.

The Fighting Scots forced 12 first half turnovers while only committing seven turnovers. Each team shot well in the opening frame as Edinboro went 18-for-32 (56.3 percent) from the field and 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) on 3-pointers while Seton Hill shot 14-for-27 (51.9 percent) and 3-for-5 (60.0 percent) from beyond the arc.

Edinboro maintained a double-digit lead in the second half until Seton Hill scored four unanswered points to cut the deficit to 58-49 after Lindsey Mifsud made a layup with 13:06 showing on the clock. The Griffins would extend that to an 8-3 run in which Jharrin Gill concluded it with two free throws. The Scots led 61-53 with 11:38 to play.

The two teams played back and forth until the final 4:02 to play. The Griffins went on a 5-0 run with a jumper by Chelsea Apke and a 3-pointer by Meghan Mastroianni.
They trailed 80-73 with 2:56 remaining. The final 1:57 of the game would be one-sided towards the Edinboro end as they scored the last five points of the game. Seton Hill shot 0-for-4 from the field while missing both 3-point attempts and turning the ball over once in that span.

The Fighting Scots posted season-highs in 3-pointers made and attempted shooting 13-for-29 (44.8 percent). They entered the game first in Division II in 3-point percentage shooting 40.3 percent from beyond the arc. Edinboro shot 32-for-63 (50.8 percent) for the game while Seton Hill went 28-for-58 (48.3 percent) from the floor and 5-for-13 (38.5 percent) on 3-pointers.

Edinboro capitalized on second chance opportunities, outscoring Seton Hill 21-7 in second chance points.

The Fighting Scots also tied a season-high with 27 assists. The last time they had that many assists was December 6, 2014 in a 91-64 victory versus Mercyhurst. The Scots are undefeated (10-0) when dishing out 17 assists or more. The Griffins ended up with 17 assists.

Hippo shot 8-for-13 from the field, 4-for-7 on 3-pointers, and 4-for-5 at the free throw line. The junior guard/forward took sole possession of 10^th in school history in 3-pointers made breaking a tie she held with Renee' Brown. Hippo now has 98 career 3-pointers made. The Altoona, Pa. native also tied her career-high with seven rebounds and led the team in rebounding for the first time in her career.

Freeland finished with 20 points on 9-for-17 from the field and 2-for-2 on free throws. It was the first time in the junior forward/center's career she has scored 20 or more points in back-to-back games. She scored 29 last Saturday at UPJ. Freeland moved into 12^th place in school history in career rebounds after pulling down five rebounds. The York, Pa. native now has 658 career rebounds passing Audrey Scott. She also added four assists and a block.

Majewski scored 17 points as she tied a season-high with five 3-pointers made on 10 attempts. The senior guard shot 6-for-12 from the field and had five assists.

Mancini was the last Fighting Scot to score in double figures. All seven of her shots were 3-pointers and she made three of them. The graduate student guard also shot 1-for-3 from the charity stripe.

Laurel Lindsay neared a double-double with nine points and 10 assists. The graduate student guard/forward entered the game third in the nation in assists per game with 7.2 helpers per contest. This was the third time this season she had 10 or more assists. Lindsay added five rebounds and three steals.

The Griffins were led by Apke who had 12 points and six rebounds on 6-for-7 shooting. Kelly Brennan and Cha Cha Williams were the only other Seton Hill players to score in double figures. Brennan scored 11 points on 4-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 on 3-pointers while Williams shot 5-for-6 from the floor on her way to 10 points.

Edinboro's next game is on Saturday, January 31 at California (Pa.). The Vulcans won 72-46 earlier today at Mercyhurst. The Fighting Scots lost to the Vulcans 76-48 earlier this year in Edinboro after being beaten 80-55 in the final meeting between the two last season in McComb Fieldhouse. Cal clinched a spot in the PSAC Tournament with today's victory. Edinboro is two wins away or a win and Mercyhurst loss away from clinching a spot in the postseason as well.