EDINBORO – The Mansfield University women's basketball team faced the Edinboro Fighting Scots at McComb Fieldhouse on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. The Mountaineers fell 80-48 to the Fighting Scots after trailing by just five points at the half.
 
The two teams combined to shoot just 1-for-20 from the field to start the game. Through the first half, Mansfield trailed by just five points while Edinboro hit only 19% of their shots from the field. The Fighting Scots had just one turnover through the first 20 minutes, but they missed 34 of their 42 shots. For the Mounties, 13 first half turnovers proved to be the difference at the intermission.  
 
Sophomore Mia Leonard amassed 13 rebounds on the night, 11 of which came from the first half alone. The forward added nine points to come up just shy of her first double-double this season. Leonard also amassed a career-high and game-high five blocks on the day.
 
Noelle Cameron stayed consistent for Mansfield by recording her fourth-straight game with at least five points and four rebounds. In the first ten minutes of play, the Bishop McDevitt alum scored four of the Mounties' seven points to go along with three rebounds. However, the Fighting Scots held Cameron to just two points for the remainder of the game. She finished with six points and eight rebounds.   
 
After hitting just 19% of their shots in the first half, Edinboro resumed play by hitting their first three 3-pointers, helping to fund an 18-7 run coming out of halftime.
 
Paige Whitfield led the Mansfield offense, scoring all of her career-high and game-high 13 points in the second half, and shooting 57% from the field. The guard added four rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Whitfield has now scored ten or more points in each of her five games played this season.
 
Erin Gibbons scored 12 points and pulled down four rebounds. The 2017-18 ECAC Freshman of the Year scored seven of her points in a one-minute stretch during the fourth quarter, but the Fighting Scots were able to answer each time and continued to shoot with much more success than they had seen in the first half.
 
Rounding out Mansfield's offense, McKenzie Hatch recorded three assists on top of her two points and three rebounds. The senior is now averaging four assists per game, ranking seventh in the PSAC. Ellie Thompson finished with four points, six rebounds, and an assist after a hard landing while colliding with a player under the hoop saw her spend significant time on the bench. Kira Merritt and Brooke Roys combined for seven rebounds, while Lily Soullaird added 2 points and 2 rebounds off the bench.
 
The Mounties out-rebounded Edinboro 51-45, but the Fighting Scots were able to shake off their rough start from the field and went on to shoot 57% from three-point land in the second half. This, in combination with Mansfield's 26 turnovers, powered Edinboro to an 80-48 win behind 59 second half points.
 
Mansfield returns to action tomorrow, December 19^th, 2018.  They will tip-off against a (3-7, 0-3 PSAC) Mercyhurst Lakers team at 1 p.m. in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
 
Coverage for tomorrow's game (12/19/2018) vs. Mercyhurst is available at the links below:
Video: https://bit.ly/2DH75Os
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2EoI8eK