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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Visiting Edinboro rode a 69% second-half shooting effort to an 82-69 win Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action in Morrow Field House.
The Fighting Scots (10-4, 1-0 PSAC-W) led by only two points (35-33) at halftime but, thanks to a 20-of-29 shooting efficiency from the field, outscored SRU (6-10, 0-1 PSAC-W) by a 47-26 margin the final 20 minutes.
The win was the third straight for Edinboro, while The Rock saw a modest two-game win streak come to an end.
Edinboro finished the game with a 52.4% (33 of 63) efficiency from the floor, hit 12 of 25 (48%) from 3-point range and sank four of seven (57.1%) free throws.
SRU, meanwhile, shot a respectable 41.5% (22 of 53) from the field, hit 3 of 11 (27.3%) from beyond the arc and canned 12 of 16 (75%) free throws.
Edinboro had a 32-26 rebounding advantage and forced SRU into 17 turnovers while committing 11 miscues.
The Fighting Scots had five players score in double figures, led by Janine McDonald's game-high 20 points. Samantha Reimer added 19 points and 10 assists, Rae Sherred 13 points and 10 rebounds, Casey Heller 11 points and Rachel Johnson 10 points.
Edinboro outscored SRU by a 26-10 margin in the first eight minutes of the second half to take a 59-43 lead and assume firm control of the proceedings.
The final 23-point margin matched the largest lead of the night for Edinboro.
The second half was a stark contrast to the opening 20 minutes of action, during which Rock and Edinboro battled tooth and nail.
SRU held a pair of four-point leads early in the game, the second of which was a 12-8 advantage with 16:30 left. Less than a minute later, Edinboro had erased the deficit and taken a 13-12 edge.
That was the first of seven lead changes in the opening 20 minutes. The score was also tied on five occasions in the first half.
The last deadlock was a 20-20 score with 9:30 left before intermission. Edinboro scored eight of the next nine points to take a 28-21 lead with 8:20 left and, four minutes later, held a nine-point (33-24) advantage.
The Rock closed out the period with a 9-2 run to trim the margin two points, 35-33, at intermission.
Gaidosh scored 12 first-half points for The Rock, while Reimer had 11 points for Edinboro.
SRU shot 42.9% (12 of 28) from the field in the opening stanza, hit two of five 3-point shots and canned seven of 10 free throws.
Edinboro, meanwhile, shot 38.2% (13 of 34) from the field, 40% (6 of 15) from 3-point range and hit three of four free throws.
The Fighting Scots held an 18-17 rebounding edge and had two less turnovers, 8-6, in the first half.
Wednesday's game ended a string of four straight home games for The Rock, who will travel to Lock Haven for a PSAC-West game Saturday and then visit nationally ranked Indiana (Pa.) next Wednesday.
