EDINBORO, Pa. – Four players scored in double figures and Edinboro took control of a tight defensive battle with a decisive third quarter as the Fighting Scots defeated Mercyhurst, 62-50 in a PSAC West contest on Wednesday night. Edinboro remains in a first place tie with California(Pa.) with the win, improving to 17-3 overall and 13-1 in league play. The Lakers suffered their second straight loss, both coming to the top two teams in the Western Division, while moving to 16-4 and 11-3, respectively.

Edinboro has now won ten straight games against the Lakers and 12 of the last 13 while boosting the all-time series to 49-11.

The Edinboro defense continually forced Mercyhurst into turnovers, negating a huge rebounding deficit. The Lakers outrebounded Edinboro, 51-27, with 21 offensive boards, but still held just an 11-9 edge in second chance points.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots had 20 steals as Mercyhurst committed 33 turnovers, leading to a 28-15 advantage in points off turnovers.  That was particularly true in the third quarter. Tied at 11-11 after one quarter, Edinboro held a slim 26-25 advantage at intermission.

The Fighting Scots would open up an 11-point lead after lead quarters at 45-34 while outscoring Mercyhurst, 19-9. The Fighting Scots forced eight turnovers in the period, leading to 13 points.
 

Natalie Piaggesi's 3-point play with 4:47 left in the quarter knotted the contest at 30-30. Edinboro would outscore the Lakers, 15-4, the rest of the way. That included a string of nine straight points as the lead grew from 34-32 to 43-32.

Jontay Walton began that run with a layup and free throw. Michelle Jahn followed with a steaql and layup for a 39-32 lead. Another Mercyhurst turnover led to a pair of Walton free throws, before Katie Fischer capped the run with a jumper. 

The fourth quarter began with the two teams going scoreless for over a minute as they continued to slug it out. A Piaggesi layup at 8:54 cut the lead to nine points at 45-36, but the Fighting Scots responded with the next five points as Mercyhurst went scoreless for almost four minutes. A Fischer steal led to a jumper by Jahn. Another turnover ended with Jahn making one of two free throws.

Mercyhurst would turn the ball over three more times, with the last one leading to a Walton layup and a 50-36 lead with 5:09 to play. That marked the largest lead of the night. Edinboro maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way, except for a 55-46 lead with just over a minute to play.

Michaela Barnes and Jahn led the quartet of double figure scorers with 15 points apiece. Barnes added four steals and Jahn three. Walton provided her usual strong play off the bench with 13 points, making 4-of-6 field goals and 5-of-7 free throws, and also had four steals. Fischer finished the night with 10 points and five assists. Ciara Rosten totaled nine points, but came up with seven steals. Those were the only five players to score.

Piaggesi led Mercyhurst with 17 with 17 points, adding eight rebounds. Maria Lapertosa had 12 points and eight boards, with Jessica Bell adding 11 points. Angela Heintz, who came into the game fifth in the PSAC in scoring at 16.7 ppg., was held to four points.

Edinboro shot 38.3 percent from the floor (23-of-60), and was 13-of-21 from the line. Mercyhurst was held to 32.1 percent from the floor at 17-for-53. The Lakers were 15-of-23 at the line.  The Fighting Scots have now held 14 opponents to under 60 points this season.    

The Fighting Scots begin the second half of PSAC West action on Saturday, January 28 with a showdown for first place at California(Pa.). Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.