Edinboro Fighting Scots (14-6, 9-5 PSAC West) at Gannon Lady Knights (12-6, 10-4 PSAC West)
DATE: Wednesday, January 27, 2016
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Hammermill Center
CITY: Erie, Pa.
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/gannon/wbball/
LIVE STREAM: http://www.gannonsports.com/watch
RADIO: http://streamdb4web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WFSE

GAME STORY
The Edinboro University women's basketball team comes into Wednesday's game with a 14-6 overall record and a 9-5 mark in PSAC play. The Fighting Scots are riding a season-best five-game winning streak, after winning at Seton Hill, 65-54 on Sunday.  Gannon enters the contest at 12-6 overall and at 10-4 in the West. The Lady Knights have dropped three of their last four outings, including a 72-65 overtime loss at home to Slippery Rock on Saturday.
 
The Fighting Scots enters Wednesday's contest with local rival Gannon seeking redemption for a 75-55 loss suffered on its home court earlier this season. The Fighting Scots look to avoid a season sweep for the first time since 2009-10 when they lost to Gannon three times, including a meeting in the first round of the PSAC Playoffs.
 
The Fighting Scots have tasted victory at the Hammermill Center just once in the past three meetings in Erie. Gannon has recorded a 58-9 record within the friendly confines of the Hammermill Center the past five seasons, but the Lady Knights are just 4-4 at home this season.   
 
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.

The Fighting Scots average 69.8 ppg., good for eighth in the PSAC, while allowing 63.6 ppg., which ranks sixth. Gannon averages 70.5 ppg., which is sixth in the PSAC, while allowing 63.8 ppg., good for seventh.
 
Edinboro ranks among the leaders in Division II in several categories. The Fighting Scots are seventh in total assists (334), 14^th in total rebounds (835), and 18^th in total blocks (90). Those figures all lead the PSAC.
 
Senior Lauren Hippo is now just 11 points away from joining the 1,000-point club. She has scored in double figures in six of the past seven games and pushed her career point total to 989 with a 14-point outing against Seton Hill. She also ranks among the all-time 3-point shooters in Edinboro history. Hippo is ranked first all-time in 3-point percentage, shooting 40.1 percent. Hippo ranks fifth in career 3-pointers made (165) and seventh in career 3-pointers attempted (411). She ranks eighth in the PSAC with 42 3-pointers made and tenth with a 32.3 3-pt. percentage. Over the past five games, Hippo has shot 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. Hippo also ranks third on the team in rebounding, averaging a career-high 5.1 rpg.
 
Senior Aignee' Freeland ranks ninth on Edinboro's all-time scoring list with 1,401 career points. She also recently entered the top three in career rebounds, and is currently third all-time with 882 boards. Heather Gates (1,301) and Montique Wade (1,113) rank first and second, respectively. Freeland is also sixth all-time in career blocks with 117. She ranks fifth in the PSAC in scoring (16.7 ppg.) and seventh in rebounding. (8.8 rpg.). Freeland has recorded eight double-doubles this season, four consecutively, good for fifth in the PSAC.
 
First-year Fighting Scot Katie Fischer continues her impressive season at Edinboro. The transfer from Mercyhurst leads the PSAC and ranks fourth in Division II with 6.7 assists per game and is third in the nation with 134 total assists. Fischer is second on the team and ranks tenth in the PSAC in scoring with 16.2 ppg. Fischer has recorded four double-digit assist games this season and posted five double-doubles. She also ranks tenth in the PSAC with 41 3-pointers made and is sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (36.3 pct.).
  
Edinboro's own Michelle Jahn was named the PSAC West Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season. After scoring in double-figures seven of the first nine games of her career, Jahn cooled off, scoring in double-digits just twice since. The General McClane product got back on track this past week, scoring 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including hitting 3-of-5 3-pointers.
 
ON THE RADIO
The game will be broadcast on WFSE 88.9. Mike Fenner will handle the play-by-play duties with Joshua Kaufer on color commentary.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Edinboro leads 33-21.
Gannon has won two of the last three meetings, including this season's first encounter, but Edinboro has won seven of the last ten and ten of the last 13.
 
Last Meeting: January 16, 2016 – Gannon 75, at Edinboro 55
Despite Katie Fischer's 28-point outing, the Fighting Scots couldn't match the offensive firepower displayed by the Lady Knights. Gannon shot 58.0 percent (29-of-50) from the floor, including 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from beyond the arc, while Edinboro went 20-of-61 (32.8 pct.) from the field and made just 5-of-21 3-pointers. Gannon opened the game scoring seven unanswered points and Edinboro never rebounded the rest of the way, as the Lady Knights led all 40 minutes. The Gannon lead grew to as much as 25 points at 63-38 with 2:55 remaining in the third quarter. Fischer accounted for over 50 percent of Edinboro's offensive output and was the only Fighting Scot to score in double figures. Gannon had four Lady Knights in double figures, led by McKenna Shives 21 points. Jennie Thies had 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Morgan Neighbors and Brianna Brennan totaled 14 and 12, respectively.
 
LAST TIME OUT
January 24, 2016 –Edinboro 65, at Seton Hill 54
Winter Storm Jonas may have postponed the originally scheduled game from Saturday to Sunday, but it couldn't cool off Aignee' Freeland as she recorded her fourth consecutive double-double to power the Fighting Scots to a fifth straight win. Freeland scored the first two baskets of the game to give the Fighting Scots an early 4-0 lead that was boosted to 24-10 thanks to a 14-2 run with 1:16 remaining in the first quarter. Lauren Hippo started the run with a 3-pointer, followed by back-to-back threes from Michelle Jahn. Hippo capped the run with her second 3-pointer of the quarter. Seton Hill eventually cut the Edinboro lead to just three points at 57-54 with 3:38 remaining in the game, but the Fighting Scots held the Griffins scoreless the remainder of the game and closed out the game on an 8-0 run to seal the victory. Freeland led Edinboro with 21 points and 13 rebounds. She also swatted away a game-high five shots. Jahn totaled 16 points and Hippo added 14. Jenna Kaufman was the lone Griffin to score in double figures, totaling 16 points. Edinboro held Seton Hill to just 1-of-15 from beyond the arc and won the rebounding battle for a sixth straight game, 39-35.
 
January 23, 2016 – Slippery Rock 72, at Gannon 65 (OT)
The Rock used a 10-3 run in overtime to close out a 72-65 upset of the Lady Knights at the Hammermill Center. The Lady Knights had a trio of double digit scorers , led by Jennie Thies 21 points. Thies was also the leading rebounder with 15 boards. McKenna Shives added 17 points and Morgan Neighbors had 10. Slippery Rock shot 38.7 percent (24-of-62) while the Lady Knights were 22-of-64 (34.4 pct.) from the field. Both teams collected 42 rebounds. The Rock's bench outscored Gannon's 30-7.
 
The Head Coaches

Edinboro: Stan Swank (Purdue '76, 527-289, 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 527-289 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.
 
Gannon: Jim Brunelli (Clarion '00, 61-18, 3^rd year; Career Record: 143-84, 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.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING SCOTS