Edinboro, Pa. – Behind a career-high 30 points from
Rana Elhusseini, the Edinboro women's basketball team defeated visiting IUP 71-61 in a key PSAC West matchup Wednesday night at McComb Fieldhouse.
The Scots held a seven-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but five straight points for the Crimson Hawks trimmed the lead to 50-48 with 7:18 to play. Elhusseini and
Lauren Mullen connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to push the advantage back to 56-48 at the 6:38 mark of the fourth.
The teams went back and forth with the Fighting Scots pushing their lead to 63-54 with 4:02 remaining in the game. IUP pushed back with five straight points to cut the lead to 63-59, but a Haley Sims layup at 2:06 pushed the lead to 65-59. Edinboro went 6-for-6 from the line in the final 29 seconds to seal the victory.
With the score tied 6-6 in the first quarter,
Gillian Fisher scored four straight points on a jumper and pair of free throws to give the Scots a 10-6 advantage. They would not surrender the lead the rest of the game. The Crimson Hawks trimmed the lead to 12-10, but an Elhusseini triple at the 2:27 mark pushed the lead back to 15-10. Gina Adams scored in the final minute of the quarter to cut the deficit to 15-12 after one.
Sims and Elhusseini scored the first four points of the second quarter to extend the advantage to 19-12. IUP scored the next six points to get within one, 19-18, with 8:10 on the clock. The Scots went on a 13-4 run keyed by seven points from Fisher giving the Scots their largest lead of the half 32-22 with 2:39 left in the second quarter. IUP trimmed the lead to 32-27 with five straight points, but Sims hit a floater in the lane with 27 seconds left to send Edinboro into the locker room up 34-27.
The teams traded runs in the third quarter, but came out even with 16 points apiece giving the Scots a 50-43 lead heading to the final quarter.
In addition to her 30 points, Elhusseini pulled down six rebounds, had three assists and two steals. Sims added 15 points and three boards. Fisher finished with 11 points.
Justina Mascaro led IUP with 21 points, seven rebounds and five steals. She was the only Crimson Hawk to score in double figures.
The Fighting Scots are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Mercyhurst for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff with the Lakers.
