EDINBORO, Pa. (February 25, 2015) - The Edinboro women's basketball team outlasted Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday night despite a late scare from the Lady Cats. The Fighting Scots won 72-69 to finish the regular season 19-7 overall and 16-6 in the PSAC West. UPJ was eliminated from the PSAC Tournament with the loss and finish the year 10-16 and 7-15 in conference.

 

Valerie Majewski shined on Senior Night as the senior guard scored 19 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Sophomore Nicole Johnson nearly stole the spotlight while recording her first career double-double. She pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and scored 10 points.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair in which the Scots led 31-28 at the break. The Lady Cats scored the first two points of the first half but Edinboro responded by outscoring them 22-8 over an 8:14 stretch.  Aignee' Freeland scored nine points over that time including the first two points at the 19:18 mark. Laurel Lindsay capped off the run with a free throw with 11:04 showing on the clock.

Down 55-40 with 10:04 remaining and needing a victory to make the PSAC Tournament, Pitt-Johnstown staged a valiant comeback effort. After a technical foul on Freeland with 9:36 left in the game, Nicole Carman made both free throws and Leah Hansen made a 3-pointer on the subsequent possession to tighten the deficit to 10 points.

That was the beginning of a 25-10 run for the Lady Cats. UPJ shot 8-for-11 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 on 3-pointers over that stretch to tie the game at 65-65 with 3:55 showing on the clock. Carman and Olivia Rizzo each scored eight points during the run while Hansen tallied seven markers.

Majewski responded with a 3-pointer to recapture the lead for Edinboro with 3:20 remaining. Jasmine Harper made a layup on the other end 20 seconds later to close the gap to one point. Lindsay responded with a jumper but Harper once again provided an answer for UPJ with a layup after pulling down an offensive rebound. The Lady Cats trailed 70-69 with 1:42 showing.

After a pair of made free throws by Lauren Hippo, Edinboro led 72-69 with 1:17 to play. Hansen then turned the ball over on the next two Pitt-Johnstown possessions but Edinboro was unable to capitalize on the chance to increase its lead. After Kelsey Sleighter fouled Hippo to send her to the free throw line, Hippo missed the first attempt of a one-and-one opportunity. Rizzo secured the rebound and Majewski picked up a foul with seven seconds remaining. Sleighter received the ball and took aim at a 3-point attempt to tie the game but missed and Majewski pulled down the rebound to secure the Edinboro victory.

The Fighting Scots shot 29-for-68 (42.6 percent) from the floor and 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) on 3-pointers. The Lady Cats finished 25-for-70 (35.7 percent) from the field and 7-for-23 (30.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The 23 3-point attempts by UPJ were the most by an Edinboro opponent this season.

Edinboro finished the regular season with 183 3-pointers made, 10 shy of the regular season record set by the 2001-02 team.

Majewski shot 7-for-16 in the contest including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and a perfect 2-for-2 on free throw attempts.

Johnson shot 5-for-11 from the floor in one of her best career games. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native also played all 40 minutes for the first time in her career.

 

Freeland tied for the game-high in scoring with 19 points. She shot 9-for-20 from the field and 1-for-2 at the charity stripe. The junior forward/center added seven rebounds and a season-high three blocks. Freeland also moved into 10^th place in Edinboro history in career rebounding (706 rebounds) and 27^th in career scoring (1,052 points). She is just one block shy of entering the top in that statistical category.

Hippo was the final Scot to score in double figures. The junior guard scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds. She made two 3-point attempts on five attempts which put her into fifth place in a single season in school history with 64 3-pointers made.

Lindsay played in her 118^th career game giving her sole possession of second all-time in school history in games played. The graduate student guard/forward trails Kerry Connolly by one game and will have the opportunity to tie that mark this weekend. Lindsay finished with nine points, six rebounds, and three steals.

Harper led the Lady Cats with 19 points and eight rebounds. The junior forward/center shot 8-for-16 from the field, missed her lone 3-point attempt, and made all three free throw attempts.

Olivia McCabe was the only other UPJ played to score in double figures finishing with 10 points. The freshman forward/center added six rebounds.

Hansen, a graduate of General McClane high school and former high school teammates of Edinboro's Majewski and Lindsey Jahn, started her sixth game of the season and finished with nine points and a game-high eight assists.

Before the game Edinboro honored five seniors who were playing in their final regular season game for the Fighting Scots. Raven Brown, Lindsay, Majewski, Hope Mancini, and Anastasia Riabchenko were all recognized for their individual and team accomplishments in an Edinboro uniform.

Edinboro now enters the PSAC Tournament. The Fighting Scots host Seton Hill on Saturday, February 28 at 1:00 p.m. Edinboro won the previous two meetings this season 68-57 on the road November 19 and then 86-73 in McComb Fieldhouse on January 28. The Griffins enter with a 12-16 overall record and 8-14 in conference after losing 69-48 at Gannon earlier tonight.