With a win in Saturday's regular season finale at Edinboro, Seton Hill would clinch the third seed in next week's PSAC Tournament. Behind a big performance from Sonia Sarda and a tough defense that forced 21 turnovers, the Griffins earned that higher seed with a 72-60 victory over the Scots.

The first quarter had a slow start for both teams. Seton Hill led 6-4 with six minutes left in the period before a three-minute scoreless stretch for each side. The Griffins finally warmed up from the floor, as a basket by Katie Nolan was followed by consecutive threes by Courtney Tomas and Rena Enterline and the 8-0 run pushed Seton Hill to a 16-9 lead after one quarter.

The Scots offense got on track to start the second quarter. Kelly Weeks hit a three for Seton Hill but it was their only points in an 11-3 Edinboro run and following a three-point play, the home team led 20-19 with six minutes left in the half. Through the rest of the half, the lead changed hands four times and there was one tie, but the Griffins used a Sarda basket and a three-pointer by Christiane Frye in the final two minutes to take a 30-26 halftime lead.

The second half started with the Griffins rolling. A lay-in by Samantha Kosmacki was followed by back-to-back short jumpers by Sarda to take the SHU lead to 10. Edinboro temporarily stopped the run with a score, but then Cheyenne Trest knocked down a three and the Seton Hill margin grew to 39-28. Later in the period, a 7-0 spurt by Seton Hill capped off by a trey from Enterline swelled the cushion to 47-31. Edinboro did answer with seven in a row, but two Trest free throws late in the quarter had the Griffins taking a 49-38 lead into the final quarter.

Edinboro started quickly in the final quarter with a pair of three-pointers, but Seton Hill calmly responded. Sarda and Nolan scored in the paint and following an offensive rebound, Kosmacki scored while getting fouled and she finished the three-point play to take the lead back up to 56-44. The Scots managed to get within single digits on three occasions the rest of the quarter, including a three-pointer with two minutes left to make it 67-59. But Trest sank two free throws on the next possession and Sarda clinched the win when she buried a three with just over a minute to play for the final points of the contest.

That clinching trey capped a big game from Sarda, who finished with a career-high 19 points. She also added six assists and four steals in the game. Nolan just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds and she also blocked a career-high six shots. Chipping in with nine points each was Enterline and Trest. The blocked shots by Nolan highlighted a strong afternoon from the Griffin defense, who forced 21 turnovers which led to 20 points on the other end.

With the win, Seton Hill will host sixth-seeded Pitt-Johnstown on Monday night in the PSAC Tournament First Round. The Mountain Cats surprised the Griffins last Wednesday for a 70-63 victory for a split of the season series after SHU won the first meeting 65-58 in Johnstown on Jan. 22. Tip-off for Monday's tilt is scheduled for 6 pm. Tickets ($10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens/students, Free for Seton Hill/UPJ students) will be available at McKenna Center starting at 4:30 pm.