Edinboro Fighting Scots (8-3, 4-2 PSAC West) at Daemen Wildcats (2-2)
DATE: Saturday, December 12, 2015
TIME: 12 p.m.
LOCATION: Lumsden Gymnasium
CITY: Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/daemen/wbball/
WATCH LIVE: http://daemenwildcats.com/watch/?Live=94

GAME STORY
The Edinboro University women's basketball team will resume play after a week-long break for final exams, taking on Daemen in a non-conference affair on Saturday, December 12. It will mark the final non-conference game of the season.
 
Edinboro comes into the game with an 8-3 record. The Fighting Scots resumed PSAC action last week, hitting the road to face three straight conference opponents. Edinboro began the week with a 64-42 win at Mercyhurst, followed by a 74-67 win at East Stroudsburg. In a battle of preseason favorites in the PSAC, the Fighting Scots saw their four-game winning streak come to an end at PSAC East preseason favorite West Chester on Saturday afternoon, 80-68.
 
Senior Aignee' Freeland moved into 17^th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,251 points. She also entered the top five in career rebounds, sitting at fourth all-time with 805 boards. Freeland is also eighth all-time in career blocks with 97.
 
Michelle Jahn continues to emerge as one of the most dangerous 3-pt threats in the PSAC, leading the conference and ranking fifth in the nation with a 51.3 percent (21-of-36) 3-point percentage. The freshman from nearby General McLane High School also leads the PSAC with 29 3-pointers made. She was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Week for the third straight week.
 
First-year Fighting Scot Katie Fischer continues her impressive start at Edinboro. The transfer from Mercyhurst ranks second on the team with 15.4 ppg. and leads the PSAC with 6.8 assists per game.
 
Junior Whitney Allen had one of her best games as a Fighting Scot in last week's win over East Stroudsburg. Allen recorded career-highs in rebounds (14) and blocks (4). She also scored seven points and dished out four assists.
 
Three Fighting Scots rank in the top ten in the PSAC for 3-pt. percentage. Jahn leads the conference at 51.3 percent, while Fischer is sixth with 39.7 percent. Senior Lauren Hippo ranks 10^th with a 31.9 percentage. Hippo is third in school history with 145 3-pointers made.
 
Junior forward Nicole Johnson made her season debut on the two-game swing to East Stroudsburg and West Chester. Johnson played in all 28 games a year ago with 21 starts, averaging 4.9 ppg. and 5.1 rpg. She missed the first nine games with an injury suffered during the summer, and saw limited action in her first two games.
 
Edinboro was tied for fifth in the newest D2SIDA Atlantic Regional Rankings with IUP.


ALL-TIME SERIES
Edinboro leads 6-1.
 
Last Meeting: 2009-10 – at Edinboro 102, Daemen 73
 
Five Fighting Scots scored in double figures as Edinboro defeated Daemen, 102-73, in the 2009-10 season opener. Kelsey Conklin led the Fighting Scots with 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field. Samantha Reimer added 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including hitting 2-of-4 3-pointers, and dished out seven assists. Renee' Brown had 11 points, while Samantha Blazetic and Kerry Connolly totaled 10 points apiece. Although the contest remained tight for a majority of the first half, a 19-2 Edinboro run with 4:05 remaining busted the game wide open. Edinboro pushed its lead to as many as 35 points in the second half.
 
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING SCOTS
 
Head Coach: Stan Swank (Purdue '76)
Record at Edinboro: 522-286, 29^th year 
Career Record: 522-286, 29^th year
 
Swank is in his 29^th season as the head coach at Edinboro and ranks as the all-time winningest coach in PSAC history and is also the longest tenured. He owns a career record of 522-286 at Edinboro, and over the previous five seasons Edinboro had a 125-27 record.  The Fighting Scots seek their seventh straight PSAC Tournament appearance and have won three PSAC championships during that five-year span, the last coming in 2014. Swank entered the 2015-16 season tied for 12^th among active Division II coaches in victories.  That figure is tied for 24^th all-time in overall victories. He ranks 35^th in career winning percentage (.645).  Edinboro finished with a 20-8 record a year ago, the fifth straight season with 20-or-more wins and the 11^th in Swank's career. He guided the Fighting Scots to a 16-6 record in the PSAC West, good for fourth place. Edinboro defeated Seton Hill, 68-53, in the first round of the PSAC Tournament before suffering a 71-63 loss to Indiana(Pa.) in the quarterfinals. The Fighting Scots qualified for the PSAC Tournament for the sixth straight year and 11th time in the last 12 years.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aignee' Freeland (F, 6'3", Sr.) – a two-time All-PSAC West selection, Freeland joined the 1,000-point club as a junior, and ranks 17^th in career scoring with 1,251 points and fourth in career rebounds with 805. Freeland leads Edinboro in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.2 ppg. and 9.2 rpg. She ranks ninth in the PSAC in scoring and eighth in rebounding.  She has recorded three double-doubles in her last four games. In the win over Mercyhurst, she had 20 points and 12 rebounds and in Saturday's loss to West Chester, she totaled 18 points and 11 boards.

Lauren Hippo (G, 5'10", Sr.) – the 5'10" senior is one of the top 3-point threats in the PSAC, and entered her senior year ranked first at Edinboro in career 3-point field goal percentage (44.7 pct.).  She ranks sixth in career 3-pointers made (145), along with 10^th in career 3-pointers attempted (344). She is also third in career free throw percentage (79.2 pct.). Hippo ranks fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 ppg. while making 22-of-69 3-pointers. She also ranks fourth on the team with 4.4 rpg. Her 31.9 percent 3-pt. shooting ranks 10^th in the PSAC.
  
Katie Fischer (G, 5'7", Jr.) – the transfer from Mercyhurst is in her first season at Edinboro and is off to an impressive start as a Fighting Scot, averaging 15.4 ppg. and a PSAC-leading 6.8 assists per game. Her 39.7 percent shooting on 3-pointers ranks sixth in the PSAC.  In the win over East Stroudsburg, Fischer posted her second double digit assist game of the year, totaling 10 assists. In the loss to West Chester, she matched a season-high with 26 points.
 
Michelle Jahn (G, 5'8", Fr.) – the three-time PSAC West Freshman of the Week has emerged as one of the most dangerous 3-point threats in the conference. The General McLane High School product ranks fifth in the nation with a 51.8 3-point percentage. She also leads the PSAC in 3-pt percentage and 3-pointers made (29). Jahn is third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.6 ppg. She continued to show her range from beyond the arc in the win over East Stroudsburg, totaling a team-high 22 points with five 3-pointers in 11 attempts.

PROBABLE STARTERS

						PPG	RPG
F	12	Whitney Allen	6-1	Jr.	Dudley, England	3.6	7.2
F	13	Aignee' Freeland	6-3	Sr.	York, Pa.	16.2	9.2
G	00	Lauren Hippo	5-10	Sr.	Altoona, Pa.	11.7	4.2
G	4	Katie Fischer	5-7	Jr.	Ambridge, Pa.	15.4	3.8
G	14	Michelle Jahn	5-8	Fr.	Edinboro, Pa.	13.6	2.8

OFF THE BENCH

						PPG	RPG
F	5	Maggie Moore	6-2	Jr.	Olean, N.Y.	4.3	4.4
F	15	Melanie Lindsey	5-9	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa.	2.6	1.0
F	32	Allison Thompson	6-0	Fr.	Erie, Pa.	1.7	1.6
G	3	Brandy Merritt	5-5	Fr.	Macedonia, Ohio	1.7	1.0
G	11	Cheniya Sharpe	5-11	Fr.	Springfield, Va.	2.2	3.2
G	14	Lindsey Jahn	5-8	Jr.	Edinboro, Pa.	2.6	1.6

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Now in their third season as members of the East Coast Conference, the Wildcats have improved their win totals in each of the first two seasons. Daemen has alternated wins to begin the season, most recently dropping its home opener to Le Moyne, 74-58, to drop to 2-2. The Wildcats enter the contest averaging 64.5 ppg. while giving up 68.3 ppg. The Wildcats haven't played a game since November 28.  
 
The Wildcats have three starters scoring in double figures. Freshman forward Taylor Heinold leads Daemen at 11.5 ppg. Sarah Saba, a sophomore forward, adds 11.0 ppg. while senior guard Raeann Stilwell averages 10.3 ppg. Somara Colon, a senior forward serves as the Wildcats' top reserve, averaging 9.5 ppg. and a team-leading 9.5 rpg. off the bench.
 
Head Coach: David Skolen (SUNY Buffalo '92)
Record at Daemen: 460-253, 24^th year
Career Record: 460-253, 24^th year
 
Head coach David Skolen is now in his 24^th season at Daemen. Skolen has been at the helm of the Wildcats since the program's infancy through joining the ECC conference of NCAA Division II in 2013. He has guided Daemen to 17 winning seasons in the last 20 years and 15 seasons of 20 or more wins. Skolen captured two USCAA Division I National Championships prior to the Wildcats joining the NCAA.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS      

						PPG	RPG
F	11	Sarah Saba	6-0	So.	Lancaster, N.Y.	11.0	8.8
F	23	Taylor Heinold	6-0	Fr.	Hamburg, N.Y.	11.5	2.5
F	33	Natalie Galus	5-11	Jr.	Hamburg, N.Y.	4.0	3.5
G	13	Raeann Stilwell	5-3	Sr.	Cheektowaga, N.Y.	10.3	3.8
G	25	Leah McDonell	5-6	Jr.	North Tonowanda, N.Y.	9.5	5.0

            
NEXT FOR THE FIGHTING SCOTS:  Wednesday, December 16 vs. Gannon at 5:30 p.m.