West Liberty, W.Va. – The Edinboro women's basketball team dropped an 88-72 decision to host West Liberty on Friday night.
The Scots trailed 5-0 out of the gate in the first quarter.
Taylor Blunt got Edinboro on the board with a triple to cut the lead to 5-3. The Hilltoppers went on a 8-0 run to push the lead to 13-3 after a pair of Dria Parker free throws. Edinboro answered with nine straight of their own keyed by four points from
Maura Suman to trim the lead to 13-12 with 3:03 on the clock in the first. Katie Lucarelli split a pair of free throws to make it 14-12 before
Kendal Batchik hit a 3-pointer to give the Scots their first lead of the game 15-14 with 2:52 left in the first. West Liberty closed the quarter on a 10-5 spurt to hold a 24-20 advantage after one.
Samantha Baker trimmed the lead to 26-24 with a layup at the 7:40 mark of the second. The Hilltoppers scored the next seven points to push the lead back out to 33-24. The Scots closed the gap to 36-31 with 4:24 remaining in the second after a Blunt 3-pointer. West Liberty answered with a 13-4 run to end the quarter taking a 49-35 advantage into the break.
The Scots battled back in the second half opening the third quarter on a 14-6 run capped by a
Carmen Vasquez jumper at the 4:42 mark cutting the lead to 55-49. West Liberty responded with a 10-2 run to extend the lead to 65-51 with 41 seconds left in the third. Baker notched a layup on the next possession for the Scots to cut the lad to 65-53 heading to the fourth.
The Hilltoppers carried momentum into the final quarter extending the lead to 74-57 after an Anna Lucarelli free throw with 6:53 to play. Edinboro would get as close as nine, 74-65, after a Baker bucket with 3:45 to play, but West Liberty held off the late push to secure the 88-72 win.
Blunt led the Edinboro offense with 18 points to go with six rebounds and one steal. Baker finished with 12 points, three boards and two steals. Batchik also reached double figure scoring with 11 points.
Bailee Smith led the Hilltoppers with 32 points. Anna Lucarellli added 19 points and seven rebounds.
The Scots return to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they take on Wheeling University.
