Bloomsburg (5-2, 2-2 PSAC East) at Edinboro (4-1, 3-0 PSAC West) / Mercyhurst (1-6, 1-2 PSAC W)
Tuesday / Wednesday, Dec. 17-18, 2013
Edinboro, PA / Erie, PA - 5:30 p.m.
McComb Fieldhouse / Mercyhurst Athletic Center

TWEETABLES (Huskies facts in 140 characters or less)
-Tuesday's game features the top two shooting teams in the PSAC (@PSACsports) – Bloomsburg (45.5%) and Edinboro (44.8%).

-In its five wins, BU has held opponents to 35 percent field goal shooting, but in its two losses opponents have shot 48 percent.

-Bloomsburg is 20-7 in the month of December over the past six seasons.

-Bloomsburg leads the PSAC in field goal (45.5%) and free throw (78.4%) percentages.

-The Huskies went 7-3 vs. PSAC West teams last year.

-The Huskies have not lost back-to-back games since dropping contests at Millersville and IUP last December.

SCOUTING EDINBORO
The Fighting Scots have a much different look from the team that won back-to-back PSAC championships in 2011 and 2012 and reached the PSAC Final Four a year ago. Edinboro has graduated seven key players in the past two years, including losing 2013 All-Americans Kiara Brown and Samantha Blazetic, making way for a new crop of performers. Little has changed in the win-loss column, however, as 27th-year head coach Stan Swank's club is off to a 4-1 start including a 3-0 mark in the PSAC West. All of Edinboro's wins – at home over Urbana and Seton Hill and on the road at Pitt-Johnstown and Cal – have come by double digits. The team's only defeat was a 59-58 heartbreaker on its home floor to Winston-Salem State on Nov. 25. Long known for its suffocating press, Edinboro is again on the right side of the turnover margin at +3.60.  
Players to Watch
Hope Mancini, senior guard – Mancini played sparingly in previous seasons behind a deep lineup of guards, but has gotten her opportunity to shine this year. Mancini leads the team in scoring at 17.4 points per game including a career-high 31 vs. Seton Hill on Dec. 4. Previous to this season, the Ohio native averaged 2.9 points in 6.0 minutes per game.

Aignee' Freeland, sophomore forward – Last year's PSAC West Freshman of the Year, Freeland has shown tremendous talent in her brief time in red and white, taking the next step thus far in her sophomore season. Freeland, a force in the post, averages a double-double at 14.8 points and 10.0 rebounds.

THE BLOOMSBURG-EDINBORO SERIES
Edinboro leads, 13-10
Though the two schools have met sparingly over the years, Bloomsburg and Edinboro have developed an interesting rivalry in recent seasons. Edinboro swept a pair of games during the 2011-12 season including a 74-58 win in the PSAC Championship Game on March 3, 2012 at McComb Fieldhouse – the last time the two teams met on Edinboro's home floor. None of Edinboro's current players that day received more than one minute of action, however, while only two current Huskies, Catherine Noack (Bethlehem/Liberty) (six points) and Maggie Borski (Philadelphia/Nazareth Academy) (two) worked into the scoring column.

Bloomsburg got its revenge last year – the Huskies raced to an 84-59 win over the then-15th-ranked Fighting Scots on Dec. 2, 2012 at Nelson Field House. Things came full circle last spring when Bloomsburg vanquished the memories of the year before by ending Edinboro's championship reign with a thrilling 76-73 victory over the Scots in the PSAC semifinals at Nelson Field House. Noack led the way with 16 points while Jocelyn Ford (Lansing, NY/Lansing) had six points off the bench to send the Huskies to the PSAC Championship Game.

SCOUTING MERCYHURST
The Lakers don't have much to show for it with a 1-6 record, but they have been playing strong as of late. Mercyhurst took California (PA) to the wire in a 71-66 home loss on Dec. 4 before battling No. 2 Gannon in a 69-57 loss at the Hammermill Center on Dec. 7 in its last action. Mercyhurst gave undefeated Gannon its toughest test of the young season, putting to within 55-53 with 5:33 before the Golden Knights slowly pulled away. Turnovers have been an issue – the Lakers are 16th in the PSAC in turnover margin (-6.75) and the offense has at times struggled, ranking 17th in the conference at 62.4 points per game. The defense ranks among the top half of the conference, however, (68.6 ppg, seventh) and Mercyhurst scored its lone win of the year so far on its home floor – an 85-75 triumph vs. Seton Hill on Nov. 20. The Lakers are an extremely young team - Mercyhurst boasts six freshmen, two sophomores, no juniors and three seniors.

Players to Watch
Alayna White, senior forward – White leads the Lakers in both scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg). She was especially impressive vs. No. 2 Gannon, scoring 19 points with eight rebounds in Mercyhurst's upset attempt and also scored a season-high 23 vs. Seton Hill.

Adrienne Kloecker, sophomore guard – Kloecker has taken a step forward as a sophomore following a strong freshman campaign. The Erie native has scored in double figures five times including 22 points vs. Seton Hill and 20 vs. Lake Erie. She's also played 34 or more minutes in six consecutive games.

THE BLOOMSBURG-MERCYHURST SERIES
Bloomsburg leads, 5-3
The Huskies won, 78-55, in Erie on Jan. 5, 2013 by pulling away in the second half after holding a five-point edge at intermission. Eleven Huskies scored during the game while holding Mercyhurst to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor (14-of-42). Bloomsburg has won the last two meetings while the Lakers' last win came at the MAC on Jan. 9, 2011, in a 75-64 victory.

PLAYER RANKINGS
-Catherine Noack (Bethlehem/Liberty) ranks second in the PSAC in scoring at 20.0 points per game.

-Adreana Sadowski (Fleetwood/Brandywine Heights) is third in the PSAC in field goal percentage at 58.7 percent (44-for-75).

-Noack is fifth in the PSAC in field goal percentage at 57.1 percent (52-for-91) and third in 3-point field goals at 49 percent (25-for-51).

-Jocelyn Ford (Lansing, NY/Lansing) is fourth in the PSAC in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.7) while Maggie Borski (Philadelphia/Nazareth Academy) (1.6) is fifth and Morgan Klunk (Felton/York Catholic) is seventh (1.6).

-Borski is also 14th in assists at 3.7 apg.

-Ford is 20th in steals per game at 1.8 spg.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR
The Huskies have started the 2013-14 season in the record column the same way they began the PSAC championship year of 2012-13 through seven games – 5-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play. A year ago, Bloomsburg won its first five games before dropping back-to-back December contests vs. Millersville and IUP and then wrapped up the first semester with a win at California (PA).

After a Dec. 30 win over Philadelphia, the Huskies dropped a 72-68 nail-biter at nationally-ranked Gannon to stand 7-3 and 3-3 in the conference on the year. They would only lose two more games throughout the rest of the regular season before ultimately winning the conference championship and earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN
The 92 points scored by Shippensburg on Dec. 7 marked just the third time the Huskies have given up 90 or more points to an opponent during the Bill Cleary era.

UP NEXT
In a re-match of last year's PSAC Championship Game, the Huskies host Gannon at Nelson Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Bloomsburg men's team in the final action of 2013. Gannon is currently ranked second in the nation.