#12/11 EDINBORO Fighting Scots (9-0, 5-0 PSAC West) at #10/25 CALIFORNIA(PA.) Vulcans (10-1, 5-0 PSAC West)
Saturday, December 30, 2017 1:00 PM | Hamer Hall | California, Pa.
LINKS: LIVE STATS | AUDIO | WATCH
 
ADDITIONAL LINKS
EDINBORO: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
CALIFORNIA(PA.): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
PSAC LINKS: PRESEASON POLL | STANDINGS | STATS

The Game Story

• #12/11 Edinboro concludes a five-game road trip on Saturday, when the Fighting Scots travel for their first PSAC West contest of the season and second top 25 matchup of the campaign at #10/25 California (Pa.). In last weeks Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA) and D2SIDA Media Polls, Edinboro shifted in both top 25 polls. In the WBCA Poll, the Fighting Scots moved from 13th to 12th, but fell in the D2SIDA Poll from 10th to 11th. As for the Vulcans, they moved into the top 10, moving up one spot in the WBCA Poll, and fell three spots to 25th in the D2SIDA Poll.
• The Fighting Scots last played on December 19 in their final nonconference game of the regular season at Fairmont State, winning 86-50. Edinboro started the 2017-18 season by upsetting then second-ranked Virginia Union by an 89-79 count, and UVa-Wise, 68-56, at the Conference Crossover. Edinboro then played three home contests at McComb Fieldhouse, as they defeated Wheeling Jesuit (77-67), followed by conference wins over Millersville (83-63) and Shippensburg (81-54). The Fighting Scots five-game road trip began with wins at Mansfield (94-52) Lock Haven (87-46) and Cheyney (87-46).
• Edinboro is one of eight teams still undefeated in Division II on the year. The Fighting Scots are 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the PSAC West. Edinboro continues to have its best start to a season since the 2011-12 team, who went 24-0 to start their campaign.
• Head coach Stan Swank became the all-time wins leader among men's and women's basketball coaches in PSAC history in the win over Mansfield. He entered the season with the most wins by a women's coach, and passed Charles Chronister of Bloomsburg for the men's title. The win marked his 560th career victory at Edinboro.
• Michelle Jahn scored a career-high 34 points at Fairmont State, and also moved into sixth place on the career three-point field goal list with 158 3-pointers. She was named PSAC West Women's Basketball Co-Player of the Week for her performance against the Fighting Falcons. Shatara Parsons of California (Pa.) was also awarded player of the week honors.
• Like Edinboro, California(Pa.) heads into the weekend well rested. The Vulcans are 9-1 on the season, but are undefeated in the PSAC at 5-0.
• California(Pa.) also last played on December 19th, when they came back from a 17-point deficit to defeat West Virginia State, 57-51.
• Parsons is the leading scorer for the Vulcans, and also leads the PSAC with 23.3 ppg.

Edinboro on Radio/Video

• The Edinboro-California(Pa.) game can be heard on WFSE-FM 88.9.  In addition, this year Edinboro is part of the PSAC Network. All men's and women's home basketball games will be streamed live through Stretch Internet. 

All-Time Series vs. California(Pa.)
Edinboro leads 44-40
First Meeting:  1970-71 – Edinboro 52, California 35
Last Meeting:  March 1, 2017 – at #5 California 64, Edinboro 61
Current Streak: California has won the last two contests by a combined seven points.
Swank vs. California(Pa.): 33-37


Last Meeting

• March 1, 2017 – at #5 California(Pa.) 64, Edinboro 61 BOX | RECAP
• Edinboro held the sixth-highest scoring team in Division II to 31.7 percent (19-of-60) from the floor, but turnovers, fouls and free throws were the difference in a close 64-61 loss to the Vulcans. After losing to California(Pa.), the Fighting Scots ended the 2016-17 campaign with a 21-9 overall record and went 16-6 in the PSAC West. The Vulcans also ended the Scots 2015-16 campaign in the PSAC Tournament.
• Both teams were neck and neck throughout the contest, which included ten ties and 15 lead changes. Edinboro was ahead for the majority of the contest.
• With 4:07 left in the fourth quarter, Katie Fischer drilled a 3-pointer, giving Edinboro a 55-52 lead. But, California(Pa.) responded by going on a 7-2 run over the final two minutes of the contest.
• Edinboro connected on nearly half its shots, as the Scots went 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the floor.
• The Vulcans committed ten fewer turnovers (25-15) than Edinboro, and also had 22 more free throws attempts (23-for-31) than the Fighting Scots (5-for-9). In the second half, California(Pa.) shot 13-for-19 from the charity stripe, while Edinboro went 2-for-4.
• Edinboro's starting five all scored in double figures. Ciara Rosten led Edinboro with 14 points and 4 blocks. Jontay Walton added 13 points, while both Katie Fischer and Michelle Jahn scored 11 points. Cheniya Sharpe added 10 points.
• DJ Hahn (8 points), Morgan Jennings (7) and Emily Suckling (5) outscored the Edinboro bench, 20-2.
• PSAC West Athlete of the Year and PSAC West First-Team guard Miki Glenn suffered an injury just five minutes into the contest, and remained out for the rest of the game. The leading scorer in the PSAC contributed two points.
• Seairra Barrett, who was also named PSAC West First-Team had a near double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
• Precious Martin shot 5-of-8 in the second half and made all five of her free throws for 15 of her game-high 19 points.

The Head Coaches
Edinboro: Stan Swank (Purdue '76) -- 563-301, 31st Year

• Stan Swank is in his 31st season as the Edinboro women's basketball head coach. He has led the Fighting Scots to seven straight 20-win seasons, and is currently 175-46 overall during that period. In total, Swank has had 13 20-win seasons as Edinboro's head coach.
• Swank is the all-time leader in wins (562) among PSAC men's and women's coaches. He entered the campaign with the most wins by a women's basketball coach in PSAC history, and passed former Bloomsburg men's basketball coach Charles Chronister for the men's title.
• Entering the 2017-18 season, coach Swank ranked ninth in Division II with 554 wins at Edinboro, and 41st in the NCAA. As a program, Edinboro ranked 13th all-time in Division II with 779 wins. Over the last five years, he has coached the Scots to a .733 winning percentage, which is 25th in Division II. Swank also ranks 38th in Division II history with a .648 winning percentage.
• In his 31 years at Edinboro, he has led the Fighting Scots to four PSAC championship titles, and ten appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. During March Madness, the Fighting Scots have made two Elite Eight appearances, three Sweet Sixteen births, and have made the Round of 32 on four occasions.

California(Pa.): Jess Strom (Penn State, 05) -- 151-40, 7th Year

• A Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Hall of Famer, Strom graduated from Penn State where she was a four-year starter for the Nittany Lions. Prior to arriving at California(Pa.), she served as an assistant coach at Appalachian State, before taking the same spot with the Vulcans. During the 2011-12 campaign, Strom was named interim head coach.
• Strom, who ranks third with 151 career wins, guided the Vulcans to their first NCAA Championship title during the 2014-15 season, and has an 11-3 overall record during postseason play. She has made the PSAC Tournament in her previous six seasons, while winning double-digit contests in all seven years as head coach.
• Last season, she was named the 2016-17 WBCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. She is also a two-time PSAC West Coach of the Year recipient (2014 and '15).

The Fighting Scots
Probable Starters

P / No.	Player	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG / RPG
F / 20	Michelle Jahn	5-8	Jr.	Edinboro, Pa.	16.0 / 3.2
F / 12	Whitney Allen	6-1	Gr.	Dudley, United Kingdom	4.3 / 6.4
F / 15	Ciara Rosten	6-2	Sr.	Buffalo, N.Y.	13.2 / 9.1
G / 2	Michaela Barnes	5-6	So.	Chagrin Falls, Ohio	10.3 / 2.2
G / 5	Jontay Walton	5-6	R-Jr.	Buffalo, N.Y.	18.9 / 3.3

Top Reserves

F / 11	Cheniya Sharpe	5-11	Jr.	Springfield, Va.	6.1 / 8.1
F / 32	Allison Thompson	6-0	Jr.	Erie, Pa.	3.7 / 3.3
G / 24	Ayana Vaugn	5-8	R-Sr.	Beaver Falls, Pa.	2.4 / 1.3

Scouting the Fighting Scots

• The Fighting Scots were picked to finish third in the PSAC West Coaches' Preseason Poll. A year ago, they finished fourth in the PSAC West and qualified for the PSAC Tournament for the eighth straight season.
• Earlier this month, Edinboro head coach Stan Swank became the all-time wins leader among men's and women's basketball coaches in the PSAC with his 560th career victory at Mansfield. Swank already had the most wins by a PSAC women's basketball coach, and passed Charles Chronister of Bloomsburg for the men's title.
• Edinboro continues to have its best start to a season since the 2011-12 squad, who went undefeated in their first 24 games.
• Jontay Walton (18.9 ppg.), Michelle Jahn (16.0), Ciara Rosten (13.2), and Michaela Barnes(10.3) are each averaging double figures per contest this season. Combined, they are responsible for 58.4 points (70.4 percent) of the Scots 83.0 points they've averaged per game this year.
• Edinboro has scored 80-or-more points in six consecutive contests. In their last four games, opposing teams have been held to under 50 points.
• Michelle Jahn was named PSAC West Women's Basketball Co-Player of the Week on December 20, as she scored a career-high 34 points at Fairmont State. Additionally, she moved into sixth place on the career-3-pointers list with 158 baskets made from beyond the arc. She shot 11-of-17 from the floor, connected on 5-of-8 3-pointers and was a perfect 7-for-7 on free throws.
• Jahn joined Jontay Walton and Ciara Rosten, who each received PSAC West Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors earlier this season.
• Ciara Rosten tied her career-high six blocks in the Fighting Scots last contest at Fairmont State. She now ranks third in the nation with 3.44 blocks per game.
• Cheniya Sharpe grabbed 15 rebounds against the Fighting Falcons. She was one board shy of tying her career-high of 16 set last season vs. Seton Hill.
• While Edinboro played then-second ranked Virginia Union to start the year, California(Pa.) is the first conference team it has played this year in the top 25. The last time the Fighting Scots played a ranked conference foe was the Vulcans in the PSAC Tournament.
• Edinboro is ranked second in Division II in turnover margin, with a 11.56 ratio per game. The Scots also rank tenth in the country in turnovers forced per contest (24.8). In the PSAC, the Fighting Scots are atop the conference registering 44.3 rpg., 4.3 blocks, and are second with 8.6 3-pointers made per contest, and winning by an average of 22.0 ppg.

Scouting the Vulcans

• The Vulcans were picked to finish second in the PSAC West Preseason Coaches' Poll, after finishing first a year ago in the regular season standings. They lost to Indiana(Pa.), 84-79, in the PSAC Championship game last season.
• California(Pa.) is 10-1 on the season and is 5-0 in the PSAC West. Their lone loss on the year came in nonconference play at Ohio Dominican, 93-75.
• The Vulcans are in the midst of a four-game home stand, with Saturday's contest marking their third consecutive at Hamer Hall. They have protected home court over the past three years, going a combined 35-2 at Hamer Hall. Last season, they lost to national-runner up Virginia Union in the Atlantic Region Championship (89-65), and the year prior in the regular season to Seton Hill to overtime (83-81). All things told, they have won 23 consecutive home PSAC contests.
• California(Pa.) last played on December 19, as the Vulcans hosted West Virginia State. The Vulcans won in a close 57-51 decision. They fought back from a 17-3 deficit after the first quarter, as they outscored the Yellow Jackets in the second half, 35-24.
• Five of their 11 contests this season have been decided by ten points or less.
• Shatara Parsons leads the PSAC with 23.3 ppg. That also ranks fifth in the country.
• Parsons has been named PSAC West Women's Basketball Player of the Week three times this season. Most recently after the Vulcans win over the Yellow Jackets.
• Parsons led the Vulcans with a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. In the second half alone, she scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards for her third double-double of the year.
• As a team, the Vulcans lead the PSAC in forcing turnovers (25.5) and steals per contest (14.7). Of the ten players who have played for California(Pa.) this season, eight have recorded double-digit steals. Parsons leads the conference with 34 steals. Mia Cushon is second with 33. Parsons and Cushon are averaging 3.1 and 3.0 steals per game, respectively.
• They are winning the rebound battle by 6.1 per game, which is second-best in the PSAC.

NEXT FOR THE FIGHTING SCOTS:  Wednesday, January 3 vs. Seton Hill – 5:30 p.m.