Edinboro Fighting Scots (9-3, 4-2 PSAC West) vs. Gannon Lady Knights (7-3, 5-1 PSAC West)DATE: Wednesday, December 16, 2015
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
LOCATION: McComb Fieldhouse
CITY: Edinboro, Pa.
LIVE STATS:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/edinboro/wbball/RADIO: http://streamdb4web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WFSEGAME STORYThe Edinboro University women's basketball team resumes PSAC play after concluding its non-conference schedule this past weekend. The Fighting Scots will take on local rival Gannon on Wednesday, December 16. It marks the start of 16-straight contests against PSAC competition to conclude the regular season. Edinboro was fifth in the latest D2SIDA Atlantic Regional Rankings while Gannon was ranked fourth.
The Fighting Scots come off a stretch of seven straight road games. They finished with a 5-2 record during that stretch. Meanwhile, Gannon has not played a game since December 5.
Edinboro and Gannon were tied for second in the PSAC West preseason poll. The two teams have been powerhouses over the last few years, with Edinboro winning 125 games the last five years, while Gannon has won 102 games in a four-year span.
Edinboro comes into the game with a 9-3 overall record and a 4-2 mark in PSAC play. The Fighting Scots have won five of their last six games, including an 87-84 overtime win at Daemen this past weekend. Gannon is 7-3 but has a 5-1 record in the PSAC, with the lone loss to Shippensburg. The Lady Knights are riding a thjree-game winning streak.
Edinboro ranks among the leaders in Division II in several categories. The Fighting Scots are second in assists (224), 10
th in assist-turnover ratio (1.26), ninth in assists per game (18.7), fifth in blocks (54), fourth in rebounds (507), and 10
th in 3-pointers made (84).
Senior
Aignee' Freeland moved into 15
th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,273 points. She also entered the top three in career rebounds, sitting at third all-time with 811 boards. Freeland is also eighth all-time in career blocks with 97. She ranks eighth in the PSAC in both scoring (16.7 ppg.) and rebounding. (8.9 rpg.)
The Fighting Scots boast two of the top five 3-point shooters in the conference in
Katie Fischer and
Michelle Jahn. Fischer has knocked down 31 3-pointers and Jahn 29.
Lauren Hippo, one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in Edinboro history, adds 22 threes.
First-year Fighting Scot
Katie Fischer continues her impressive start at Edinboro. The transfer from Mercyhurst is tied for first on the team with 16.7 ppg. and leads the PSAC with 6.6 assists per game. Fischer ranks third in the nation with 79 assists. She also leads the PSAC with 31 3-pointers made and ranks fifth with a 41.3 percent 3-pt. percentage. Fischer is the reigning PSAC West Athlete of the Week.
Michelle Jahn continues to emerge as one of the most dangerous 3-point threats in the PSAC, ranking second in the conference at 48.3 percent from beyond the arc. The freshman from nearby General McLane High School also ranks second in the PSAC with 29 3-pointers made. Jahn has been named the PSAC West Freshman of the Week three times. She ranks third on the squad in scoring, averaging 12.8 ppg.
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. Johnson scored the game-winning bucket in overtime against Daemen over the weekend, her first points of the season.
ON THE RADIOThe game will be broadcast on WFSE 88.9. Mike Fenner will handle the play-by-play duties with Josh Kaufer on color commentary.
ALL-TIME SERIESEdinboro leads 33-20. Edinboro has won six games in a row at McComb Fieldhouse against Gannon and 10 of the last 12 overall.
Last Meeting: 2014-15 – at Edinboro 55, Gannon 54 (OT)
After Gannon won the first meeting of the year, 76-70, the Fighting Scots came back to win in overtime at McComb Fieldhouse.
Nicole Johnson provided the winning points as she scored on a layup with 15 seconds left in overtime to secure the 10th victory over Gannon in the last 12 meetings. The Fighting Scots jumped out to an early 10-point lead before settling for a 31-25 halftime lead.
Aignee' Freeland scored all 16 of her points in the first 20 minutes, adding 11 rebounds in the game. Gannon would take a five-point lead in the second half, but
Laurel Lindsay's layup with 1:01 to play would ultimately send the game into overtime tied at 48. The Lady Knights would score the first six points of OT for a 54-48 lead with 3:44 left to play. Gannon would not score again. Lindsay's layup and 3-pointer pulled the Scots to within one with 2:34 left. That set the stage for Johnson's putback. Lindsay finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Johnson had 12 points. Morgan Neighbors paced the Knights with 13 points, and Nettie Blake had 11 while battling foul trouble.
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 WATCHAignee' Freeland (F, 6'3", Sr.) – a two-time All-PSAC West selection, Freeland joined the 1,000-point club as a junior, and ranks 15
th in career scoring with 1,273 points and third in career rebounds with 811. Freeland is tied for second in scoring on the team and leads Edinboro in rebounding, averaging 16.7 ppg. and 8.9 rpg. She ranks eighth in the PSAC in scoring and eighth in rebounding. Freeland also leads the Fighting Scots and ranks ninth in the PSAC in field goal percentage (51.8 percent). In last weekend's win over Daemen, she had 22 points and 6 rebounds. Freeland has recorded four double-doubles this year.
Lauren Hippo (G, 5'10", Sr.) – the 5'10" senior is one of the top 3-point threats in the PSAC, and currently ranks first at Edinboro in career 3-point field goal percentage (44.7 pct.). She ranks sixth in career 3-pointers made (145), along with ninth in career 3-pointers attempted (346). While she has struggled from beyond-the-arc this year (31.0 percent), she has 39 assists and just nine turnovers. Hippo ranks second in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (4.33) and minutes played (437). She ranks fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 11.4 ppg. while making 22-of-71 3-pointers. She also ranks third on the team with 4.3 rpg. Hippo's 3.3 assists per game rank second on the squad.
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 16.7 ppg. and a PSAC-leading 6.6 assists per game. She ranks fifth in the PSAC in 3-point percentage at 41.3 percent. In addition, Fischer leads the PSAC with 31 3-pointers made. Ahe scored a career-high 31 points on 9-of-20 shooting against Daemen before fouling out late in the fourth. She also hit a team-high 4-of-7 3-pointers and was 9-of-11 at the line. Fischer was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week for her performance against Daemen.
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 second in the PSAC in 3-pt. percentage (48.3 percent) and 3-pointers made (29). Jahn is third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 ppg.
PROBABLE STARTERSTOP RESERVESSCOUTING THE LADY KNIGHTSGannon began the year tied for second with the Fighting Scots in the PSAC West Preseason Poll. The Lady Knights have won three straight games, over PSAC opponents IUP, Lock Haven, and Bloomsburg. They come in with a 7-3 overall record and are 5-1 in the PSAC West. Gannon averages 73.1 ppg. while giving up just 65.2 ppg., ranking seventh in the PSAC in the latter category.
Like Edinboro, Gannon relies heavily on the 3-pointer. The Lady Knights rank first in the PSAC in 3-pointers made per game( 7.1), second in 3-pointers made (71), sixth in the PSAC in 3-pointers attempted (202), and sixth in 3-pt. field goal percentage (35.1).
The Lady Knights have four starters scoring in double figures led by senior guard Morgan Neighbors with 16.2 ppg., good for 10
th in the PSAC. Junior forward Brianna Brennan adds 14.2 ppg., while sophomore guard McKenna Shives averages 12.7 ppg. Senior forward Jennie Thies averages a double-double with 10.4 ppg. and 11.5 rpg. The latter figure ranks fourth in the PSAC.
Former Mercyhurst Prep standout Amanda Berchtold has been very efficient from her point guard position, totaling 62 assists and just 24 turnovers. She ranks second in the PSAC with 6.2 assists per game.
Head Coach: Jim Brunelli (Clarion '96)
Record at Gannon: 56-15 3
rd year
Career Record: 138-81, 7
th year
Head coach Jim Brunelli is now in his third season at Gannon. Brunelli has recorded 20-win seasons in each of his first two years as well as a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. His 28-4 debut season is the best first-year performance by a Gannon women's basketball head coach in program history. Brunelli began the 2015-16 campaign ranked 40
th among winningest active coaches in Division II with a .627 winning percentage. Prior to taking over at Gannon, Brunelli served as the head coach at Anderson (S.C.) where he was named the SAC Coach of the Year in 2012-13.
PROBABLE STARTERS | | | | | | PPG | RPG |
| F | 10 | Brianna Brennan | 6-1 | Jr. | Woodhaven, Mich. | 14.2 | 4.1 |
| F | 14 | Jennie Thies | 6-1 | Sr. | Lakewood, N.Y. | 10.4 | 11.5 |
| G | 3 | McKenna Shives | 5-5 | So. | Struthers, Ohio. | 12.7 | 1.9 |
| G | 5 | Amanda Berchtold | 5-4 | Sr. | Erie, Pa. | 3.6 | 2.9 |
| G | 12 | Morgan Neighbors | 5-9 | Sr. | Westerville, Ohio | 16.2 | 5.1 |
NEXT FOR THE FIGHTING SCOTS: Saturday, December 19 vs. Indiana(Pa.) at 1 p.m.
