Women's Basketball Defeats Defending National Champion

On Wednesday Jan. 20, the women’s basketball team defeated defending national champion University of California of Pennsylvania by a score of 73-54.

This was their fourth straight win and puts them at 13-6 overall and 8-5 in the PSAC west.

“One of the things we’ve been trying to accomplish is to beat a very good team,” head coach Stan Swank said. “For us to beat a really good team, I think it gives us confidence for our players and hopefully we can move forward with it.”

After the first quarter, Cal. was up by four as the Scots got off to a slow start. Swank said they didn’t change anything strategically after the quarter, the team just started to rebound better.

The Scots opened up the second quarter with a 20-7 run to gain the lead, which they never gave up.

By halftime, Edinboro led by eight points and played stride for stride with Cal. in the third quarter. Both teams scored 17 points.

Katie Fischer had a doubledouble in the game with 15 points and 11 assists.

“She’s a total player. When she’s handing out assists, we know we’re doing well because we’re playing as a team and everyone is getting an opportunity to score,” Swank said.

Aignee’ Freeland led the game in points with 26, and also had a double-double by recording 13 rebounds. That was her seventh doubledouble of the season and she has now moved into ninth place in career scoring.

Lauren Hippo also had a large contribution, with her season-high 23 points and eight rebounds.

Edinboro had 21 offensive rebounds and had 40 points in the paint compared to Cal’s 26. The Scots also out rebounded the Vulcans 44-27.

Whitney Allen made her presence felt off the bench by recording 12 rebounds throughout the game.

The Vulcan’s won the turnover battle, however, forcing 18 and only committing nine. They had 27 points off turnovers, while Edinboro had 10.

“We were real concerned about turnovers, but I think what made up for it was our rebounding,” said Swank. “We got a lot of offensive rebounds and put backs.”

The PSAC’s leading scorer, Miki Glenn of Cal, was held to 15 points and only had two in the second half. She has averaged 19.8 points per game this year.

Coming down to the final part of the season, Swank said the team now has a reference point after beating Cal. If they need something to look back on, he said, they can remember how they played against Cal. and know they need to play like that.

Before Wednesday night’s victory, the Scots had lost by at least 25 points in their last three meetings with the Vulcans.

Edinboro closed out the game on a 19-2 run, outscoring the Vulcans 19-8 in the fourth and final quarter.

Michael McLaughlin is the Sports Editor for The Spectator and he can be reached at sports.spectator@gmail.com.

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