#12/11 EDINBORO Fighting Scots (9-1, 5-1 PSAC West) vs. SETON HILL Griffins (9-3, 4-2 PSAC West)
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 5:30 PM | McComb Fieldhouse | Edinboro, Pa.
LINKS: LIVE STATS | AUDIO-WFSE 88.9 | VIDEOSTREAM-WATCH
ADDITIONAL LINKS
EDINBORO: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
SETON HILL: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
PSAC LINKS: PRESEASON POLL | STANDINGS | STATS
The Game Story
- #12/11 Edinboro ended the 2017 year on a sour note, as the Fighting Scots suffered defeat for the first time this season at #10/25 California(Pa.), 74-71, on Saturday. Edinboro is now 9-1 overall and 5-1 in the PSAC West. The nine-game winning streak was the second longest since the 2011-12 season, when the Fighting Scots won their first 24 contests.
- The Fighting Scots will look to get back on the winning side, and remain undefeated at McComb Fieldhouse on Wednesday, when they host Seton Hill. Wednesday's contest against the Griffins marks the first of three straight home games and six consecutive in Erie County. The Scots have not played at home since November 19, when they defeated Shippensburg 82-64, on the back-half of the first PSAC contests of the regular season.
- 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.
- In the most recent Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA) and D2SIDA Media Polls, Edinboro ranked 12th in the WBCA and were 11th in the D2SIDA polls.
- The Griffins were picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West Preseason Coaches' Poll. They fly into Edinboro on a six-game winning streak, cruising to victory by an average of 38.3 points.
- Earlier this season, 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.
- Jontay Walton leads a quad of Edinboro players who are scoring double figures a game this season. The 5'5" junior guard is averaging 18.8 ppg., which ranks fifth in the PSAC. She also ranks second with 4.3 apg. Michelle Jahn is leading the Scots from beyond the arc, making 2.6 3-pointers per game for 14.9 ppg. Ciara Rosten ranks third on the Fighting Scots with 14.1 ppg. Rosten also leads the PSAC with 3.4 blocks per game, and is fifth in the conference with 8.9 rpg. The 6'2" senior forward has blocked at least three shots in five straight contests.Sophomore Michaela Barnes is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 10.6 ppg.
- Seton Hill enters Wednesday's contest on a six-game winning streak, with three of the wins coming on the road.
Edinboro on Radio/Video
- The Edinboro-Seton Hill game can be heard on WFSE-FM 88.9. Gabe Hypes will be handling the play-by-play with Madi Gross providing color commentary. 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. Seton Hill
Edinboro leads 16-1: Edinboro won the last contest in the Quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament last year.
First Meeting: 1990-91 – Edinboro 98, Seton Hill 74
Last Meeting: February 27, 2017 – vs. Edinboro 82, Seton Hill 50
Current Streak: Edinboro won the last contest.
Swank vs. Seton Hill: 16-1
Last Meeting
- February 27, 2017 – vs. Edinboro 82, Seton Hill 50 BOX | RECAP
- Jontay Walton scored 19 points and Cheniya Sharpe pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds to lead Edinboro to an 82-50 win over Seton Hill in a PSAC Tournament First Round Game on Monday night at McComb Fieldhouse. The Fighting Scots, who were the fourth seed, improved to 21-8 and moved on to play at top-seeded California(Pa.) in the PSAC Quarterfinal contest. Seton Hill, the fifth seed, ended the year at 16-13.
- The Fighting Scots had lost four of their last six games entering the postseason. Seton Hill had snapped Edinboro's 17-game home winning streak with an 83-74 win on February 8, the Griffins' first win ever against the Fighting Scots.
- Edinboro turned the ball over a season-low four times, while forcing 18 Seton Hill miscues. As a result, the Scots held a 20-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
- The Fighting Scots dominated the glass, 48-35, which included 20 offensive rebounds. They had been out rebounded in eight of their prior ten contests. The Fighting Scots were 7-of-21 from beyond the arc and made 11-of-14 at the line. Seton Hill was 15-of-24 from the charity stripe.
- Seton Hill was held to 32.6 percent (15-of-46) for the game, and made just 9-of-33 shots over the final three quarters. Edinboro made 41.0 percent (32-of-78) of their shots, and attempted 32 more shots than the Griffins.
- In the first quarter alone, there were two ties and 11 lead changes. Edinboro took the lead for good at 21-18 late in the opening stanza on a layup and free throw by Michelle Jahn.
- The Fighting Scots opened the second quarter scoring ten of the first 13 points of the quarter. the first 10 points to cap off a run of 13 straight points. Jahn opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, and Ciara Rosten followed with a jumper and layup to make it 28-18. Katie Fischer capped the run with another three for a 31-18 advantage with 7:51 left in the quarter.
- Seton Hill would run off six straight points late in the half to pull to within 33-25, but Edinboro scored the final four points of the half on jumpers by Maggie Moore and Nicole Johnson.
- Any comeback hopes Seton Hill may have had were quickly squashed in the third quarter as Edinboro had another 13-0 run to boost the lead from 39-29 to 52-29 with 2:55 left in the third quarter. Fischer accounted for seven points and Walton four in the run.
- Seton Hill never got closer than 19 points the rest of the way, with the final 32-point margin the largest lead of the night.
- Walton made her third start of the year, as she knocked down 7-of-16 field goals, including a 3-pointer, and was 4-of-5 from the line.
- Rosten went 8-for-12 from the field for 16 points. Fischer had 13 points and eight assists without a turnover, while Jahn also scored in double digits with 11 points. Jahn also held Seton Hill's leading scorer, Jenna Kaufman, to 10 points.
- Sharpe had a career night on the glass, as she set a career-high in rebounds with 16, including 13 on the offensive end.
- Chrisanna Green finished with a double-double for Seton Hill with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Head Coaches
Edinboro: Stan Swank (Purdue '76) -- 563-302, 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 175-47 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 (563) 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.
Seton Hill: Mark Katarski (California(Pa.), '00) – 64-62, 5th Year; 119-164 Overall 11th year
- Katarski has led the Griffins to the PSAC Tournament each season since taking over the helm in the 2013-14 season, when Seton Hill joined the PSAC. Additionally, the Griffins have won four straight PSAC Top Team GPA Awards among the women's basketball teams in the conference.
- His first season at Seton Hill was the programs inaugural season in the PSAC.
- Prior to Seton Hill, Katarski spent two seasons as an assistant coach for Division I Niagara women's basketball team and six seasons as the head coach at Division III Chatham.
- At Chatham, Katarski guided the Cougars to their first Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament victory, and made back-to-back semifinal appearances in the conference tournament.
The Fighting Scots
Probable Starters
Top Reserves
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 season, 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 (18.8 ppg.), Michelle Jahn (14.9), Ciara Rosten (14.1), and Michaela Barnes(10.6) are each averaging double figures per contest this season. Combined, they are responsible for 58.4 points (71.4 percent) of the Scots 81.8 points they've averaged per game this year.
- Ciara Rosten scored a season-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting against the Vulcans last Saturday.
- Edinboro leads the PSAC, and ranks fourth in Division II in turnover margin with a 9.86 ratio per game. The Scots are also atop the conference with 4.2 blocks per game, and 43.0 rpg. They rank second in the PSAC in total points per game (81.8), a 21.3 point winning margin, and are forcing 24.0 turnovers per contest.
- This is Edinboro's second-straight game facing an opponent they saw in the 2016-17 PSAC Tournament.
Scouting the Griffins
- Seton Hill was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last season, the Griffins defied the odds a year ago, as they were picked to finish seventh in the PSAC West, but ended the campaign in fifth place at 16-13 overall, 12-10 in conference play, and a winning percentage for the first time in four years.
- The Griffins head to Edinboro on a six-game winning streak. They most recently defeated Slippery Rock on Saturday, 85-78.
- Head coach Mark Katarski was named PSAC West Women's Basketball Coach of the Year during the 2016-17 campaign.
- Senior Jenna Kaufman is one of three Griffins scoring in double figures this season. She currently leads the Griffins with 17.0 ppg. The 5'11" guard/forward also leads the team with 7.5 rpg., and is shooting 85.1 percent (40-for-47) on free throws.
- Cheyenne Trest scored a career-high 35 points in Griffins win over The Rock. She shot 9-of-14 from the floor, and went 15-for-19 on free throws. The freshman guard is averaging 16.0 ppg., and is shooting the ball at 46.3 percent (minimum 60 field goals attempted), for second-best on the team.
- Alexandra Hay is averaging 13.8 ppg. She has registered 14 steals on the season, which is tied with Trest for the team-high. She leads Seton Hill in three-point shooting percentage, as she's connected on 47.5 percent (28-of-59) of her shots this year.
- Seton Hill is committing the fewest turnovers in the PSAC with 12.8 per game. They are also the top three-point shooting team, making 8.7 3-pointers per contest (104-for-305), and have the most assists (188). The Griffins have made a conference-best 195 free throws this season, on 76.2 percent from the charity stripe.
NEXT FOR THE FIGHTING SCOTS: Saturday, January 6 vs. Kutztown– 1:00 p.m.
