Box Score

EDINBORO, Pa. -- No. 21 Edinboro University had four players in double-figures as the Fighting Scots pushed past local rival Mercyhurst College in the quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference women's basketball postseason tournament, 75-51.

Edinboro (24-3) now advances to the PSAC Final Four hosted by Bloomsburg while the Lakers' (15-15) season comes to an end.  Under fourth-year head coach Deanna Richard, Mercyhurst has increased its win total in every season and qualified for the first time since 1999-2000 for the conference tournament.

The Western Division's top-seed, The Fighting Scots used a pressure defense similar to the one they used at Mercyhurst to force 33 Laker turnovers and turn them into 35 points.

Kiara Brown and Samantha Blazetic each tallied 15 points for Edinboro while teammates Raven Metz and Darche' Jackson added 12 markers each.  For Mercyhurst senior forward Amy Achesinski posted a shared-game high with 15 points, finishing as the only Laker in double-figures.

Edinboro opened the game with a 10-2 run through the first five minutes but a rallying Mercyhurst squad was able to cut the lead to 11-8 with 13:39 remaining when Amy Achesinski hit a layup off Megan Hoffman's assist.

The Fighting Scots pushed the floor after their stingy defense to rally for another burst, this time a 10-2 run to take a 21-10 lead with 10:19 to go.  Mercyhurst quickly answered to bring the deficit to 23-14 with just over seven minutes remaining after Nikki Frederickson's layup, but just as before Edinboro put together another big run to increase its lead.  This time, the Fighting Scots went on a 19-4 run for a 42-18 halftime advantage.

In the final stanza, Mercyhurst made a rallying effort once more.  After starting off with a 3-ball,  Dana Banda hit a pair of free throws to make the score 49-31 with 12:37 to go but the Scots would score on the next possession on Renee' Brown's layup to push the lead once more.

Banda and Frederickson just missed out on double-digit scoring for the Lakers, each adding eight points while Hoffman contributed six points.  Kaylee Foster, Samantha Loadman and Abby Allen each added four points in the effort.