Edinboro, Pa. – The Edinboro women's basketball team scored a 74-65 victory over Lock Haven Saturday afternoon to move on to the PSAC Championship game on Sunday.
Lock Haven cut the Edinboro lead to four, 47-43, on a free throw from Madeline Evans.
Gabby McDuffie scored at the other end to push the lead to six then picked Jenadia Jordan's pocket and drew a foul hitting both free throws to extend the advantage to 51-43. Kiera Baughman hit a pair of free throws to trim the lead to 51-45 but
Hope Garrity hit a corner three rolled around the rim and fell to put the Scots up 54-45 heading to the fourth quarter.
In the fourth,
Morgan Gentile opened the scoring with a layup to put Edinboro ahead 56-45. The Scot lead hovered with
Ashten Boggs putting the Scots up 65-55 with a layup with 2:35 left to play. The Bald Eagles went on an 8-4 spurt to pull within 69-63 with 37 seconds left but the Scots went 5-of-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
Edinboro led 10-7 after a Boggs layup at the 6:25 mark of the first quarter. Lock Haven answered with an 11-2 run taking the lead 18-12 on an Alana Robinson jumper with 2:55 on the clock.
Rachael Manfredo made a layup and Gentile hit a triple to cut the lead to one, 18-17, with 1:50 left in the opening quarter. Manfredo hit a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left and Sims hit a deep trey as time expired to give the Scots a 23-18 lead after the first.
Sims opened the second quarter with another trey and Boggs netted a layup to give Edinboro a 28-18 lead with 8:16 to play in the first half. Lock Haven trimmed the lead to 28-23 with five straight points before the Scots stopped the run on a Boggs layup with 3:53 left in the second. The Bald Eagles closed the quarter on a 9-4 run to cut the halftime lead to 34-32.
Gentile pushed the Edinboro lead out to 40-34 with a pair of free throws at the 6:20 mark of the third. Jordan hit a 3-pointer for the Bald Eagles to make it a one-possession game 40-37 with 5:58 left in the third. Edinboro went on a 5-1 spurt to build a 45-38 lead after an
Ava Haddad free throw with 3:28 remaining in the third. Four-straight points at the free throw line for the Bald Eagles pulled Lock Haven within three, 45-42, with 2:52 left in the third.
Gentile led all scorers with 22 points despite sitting most of the first half with foul trouble. She was 7-of-10 from the field and grabbed five rebounds, five steals and three assists. Boggs chipped in 15 points shooting 7-of-11 with four boards, three steals and two assists. Sims also reached double-figure scoring with 14 points.
Robinson led the Bald Eagles with 16 points to go with five blocks and four rebounds. Rhyln Rouse notched a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Scots advance to Sunday's PSAC Championship game where they will host Kutztown. The Golden Bears knocked off Gannon 64-58 in the first semifinal of the day. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. inside McComb Fieldhouse.
