ERIE, Pa. – After being swept by local PSAC West rival Gannon last season, the Edinboro University women's basketball team returned the favor on Wednesday night. The Fighting Scots recorded a season sweep of the Lady Knights with a dominant 69-40 victory at the Hammermill Center to improve to 19-6 overall and 15-4 in conference action. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Fighting Scots. With the loss, Gannon dropped to 8-18 overall and 8-12 in the PSAC.
The Fighting Scots defeated Gannon 83-54 earlier the season in McComb Fieldhouse.
Edinboro jumped out to a quick 15-7 lead in the first quarter before going cold and allowing the Lady Knights to recover. The Fighting Scots connected on a trio of 3-pointers during the stretch, one each from
Katie Fischer,
Jontay Walton, and
Michelle Jahn. Edinboro missed their next seven shots and were held scoreless for over eight minutes as Gannon drew the game to a tie with 7:08 remaining in the second quarter.
The Fighting Scots responded in a big way, ending the first half on a 19-4 run over the final seven minutes to take a 34-19 halftime lead. The Fighting Scots carried the momentum into the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Knights 15-8 over the opening ten minutes of the second half to take a 22-point lead at 49-27. Fischer accounted for 11 of Edinboro's 15 points as she connected on three 3-pointers during the quarter.
The Edinboro lead grew to as many as 29 points in the final quarter as Edinboro cruised to the big victory. Gannon's 40 points tied a season-low scoring output and was the second-fewest points allowed by the Fighting Scots defense all season. The Fighting Scots entered the contest ranked fifth in the PSAC in scoring defense, allowing just 59.3 ppg.
Fischer led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-8 3-pointers. Fischer also dished out seven assists from her point guard spot and picked up four steals and four rebounds. Jahn also finished in double figures, totaling 10 points. Walton turned in her usual solid effort off the bench, finishing with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Ciara Rosten finished with eight points and a team-high eight boards.
After being outrebounded in five of the last six contests, and four times by 10-or-more rebounds, the Fighting Scots won the battle of the boards, 38-33, including holding a 16-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Edinboro also dominated the turnover battle, forcing the Lady Knights into 22 turnovers while just turning it over just six times themselves. The Fighting Scots held a 29-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Lanise Saunders was the lone Lady Knight to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points and nine boards. Saunders also swatted away five shots. Julia Braungart added nine points.
The Fighting Scots are back in action on Saturday afternoon traveling back to Erie looking to sweep another local PSAC West rival in Mercyhurst. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
