EDINBORO, Pa. (February 14, 2015) - The Edinboro women's basketball team had a trio of players with outstanding games but it was not enough to defeat No. 13 Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon as the Fighting Scots lost 91-81. IUP shot a scorching 20-for-31 (64.5 percent) in the second half and closed the game shooting 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) from the floor in the final 6:30. The Scots record falls to 17-7 overall and 14-6 in the PSAC West while the Crimson Hawks improve to 21-2 and 17-2 in conference.

 

Laurel Lindsay reached a historic mark becoming the third player in PSAC history to reach 1,000 points (1,013), 500 rebounds (512), and 500 assists (503) for her career while recording a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists. Lauren Hippo scored a career-high 30 points and Valerie Majewski added 17 points. The trio combined for 67 points, 82.7 percent of the Fighting Scots points.

The beginning of the game started in familiar fashion as the first meeting between the two with the Scots hanging tough with the highly ranked Crimson Hawks. IUP would then produce a 10-0 run in under two minutes. Marita Mathe 3-pointer at the 13:38 mark sparked the run that closed with a Leslie Stapleton 3-pointer with 11:59 left in the first half. The Crimson Hawks led 22-11.

Indiana (Pa.) would then secure its largest lead of the game of 13 points with a 6-0 run concluding with 6:31 showing on the clock when Ashley Stoner would increase IUP's lead to 34-21. The Crimson Hawks shot 14-for-22 (63.6 percent) from the field up to that point.

Edinboro began to chip away as they forced IUP to make just one of their subsequent nine shots following the hot start. The Fighting Scots took advantage of this and pieced together a 7-0 run. Anastasia Riabchenko made a jumper with 3:29 remaining in the opening frame and was followed by a classic three-point play by Hippo who converted the free throw after being fouled by Megan Smith. Majewski capped the run off with a layup as Edinboro trailed 36-31 with 2:02 left.

The two teams would then trade 5-0 runs to close the half. The Scots scored the last five points and combined with the earlier 7-0 run shot 6-for-7 in the final 3:29 of the first half.

IUP held a 22-12 advantage in rebounding at the break. Both teams shot proficiently in the first half with Edinboro shooting 13-for-29 (44.8 percent) from the field and 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) on 3-pointers while Indiana (Pa.) countered with 17-for-34 (50.0 percent) overall and 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Fighting Scots carried the momentum they gained at the conclusion of the first half into the beginning of the final frame. Hippo made a layup less than a minute in and following a jumper by Lindsay Stamp, Majewski added a layup. Down by three points now, Hippo hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 43-43 with 18:00 minutes remaining.

The Crimson Hawks recaptured the lead but the Scots kept it within a possession or tied until 10:37 showing on the clock. A jumper by Stoner stretched it to a two-possession lead that IUP would maintain the rest of the game.

Hippo brought the Fighting Scots to within four points with a 3-pointer with 5:32 left. The Crimson Hawks led 73-69 and would outscore Edinboro 18-4 for the remainder of the game as the Scots efforts to battle back fell short. IUP made all six of its free throw attempts in the final minute to eventually win by the score of 91-81.

The Crimson Hawks' 91 points were a season-high allowed by Edinboro this year as the 81 points scored by the Fighting Scots was their highest total in a loss since scoring 82 points at Glenville State on November 10, 2012. The Lady Pioneers 101 points that day was also the last time Edinboro allowed an opposing team to score 90-or-more points until today.
IUP shot 37-for-65 (56.9 percent) for the game and 9-for-18 (50 percent) on 3-pointers. Edinboro finished 31-for-61 (50.8 percent) from the floor and 8-for-16 (50 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Crimson Hawks outrebounded the Fighting Scots 38-23 including 16 offensive rebounds. IUP finished with 19 second chance points to Edinboro's five.

Hippo's 30 points were a career-high. Her previous high came against West Chester in the PSAC Semifinals last season when she scored 29 points. The junior guard tied a career-high with 10 field goals made on 13 attempts and set a new career-high with six 3-pointers made on nine attempts. Her 39 minutes also tied a career-high.

Lindsay was impressive en route to an exclusive mark. The graduate student guard/forward shot 8-for-18 from the field, 1-for-3 on 3-pointers, and a perfect 3-for-3 at the free throw line. Lindsay joins Shippensburg's Vickie Mikesic and Millersville's Mashira Newman as the only players in PSAC history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists in a career. She is also just the third Edinboro player to reach 500 career assists as Edinboro assistant coach Callie Wheeler (Iorfido) and Pam Artman are the only other two players to have done so. Lindsay also passed Amy Repelje for 23^rd in career scoring and Artman for second in career assists.

Majewski's 17 points came via 7-for-15 shooting, 1-for-4 from beyond the arc, and converting both of her free throw attempts. It was the third straight game the senior guard has scored in double figures.

Stoner led the Crimson Hawks with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The senior forward shot 11-for-17 from the floor, missing her one 3-point attempt and making both of her free throw attempts.

Mathe neared a triple-double for IUP as she had 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. The senior guard was 6-for-10 from the floor, 4-for-7 on 3-pointers, and 4-for-5 at the charity stripe.

Stapleton matched Mathe on shooting from beyond the arc going 4-for-7 on her way to 16 points. The redshirt junior guard finished 5-for-11 from the floor.

Stamp, who entered the game as the PSAC's leading scorer with 19.6 ppg., finished with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

Zhané Brooks added 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. The Erie, Pa. native shot 5-for-10 from the field.

The loss eliminates Edinboro from one of the top two seeds in the PSAC Tournament. The Fighting Scots can still surpass Gannon for third in the PSAC West and finish no worse than fourth, guaranteeing a home game in the PSAC First Round on Saturday, February 28.

Edinboro also held its annual Fighting Scots Fighting Cancer Day. Some of the players wore pink ribbons and a variety of raffles were held with proceeds benefiting Play 4 Kay.

The Scots play only one game next week, an away meeting with Clarion on Wednesday, February 18. Edinboro defeated the Golden Eagles 64-59 earlier this year on January 17.