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EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University held a 49-22 rebounding advantage and forced 34 turnovers to secure the sixth and final playoff spot in the PSAC East women's basketball field with a 67-39 win over Mansfield on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Junior guard Andrea Veres scored 13 points and senior forward Fayola Moise had 10 points and eight rebounds to lead the scoring for the Warriors (7-15, 6-12), who hold a four-game lead over Mansfield (4-18, 2-16) with four games remaining and earned the tiebreaker by sweeping the season series.

Sophomore forward Jessica Martin had eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks and became the ninth sophomore in ESU history to reach the 500-career point mark, finishing with 505. Senior guard Barb Borst had eight points, sophomore guard Ryann Fiascki scored seven, freshman center Michelle Boggs had six points, eight rebounds and three blocks and freshman guard Helena Gemmell added five points, five rebounds and four steals.

ESU's board work produced its largest rebounding margin in at least 10 seasons. The Warriors had 27 offensive rebounds, compared to 14 defensive rebounds for Mansfield, as they shot 41.5 percent (27-for-65) from the field.

Megan McSwain led the Mounties with 13 points, but they weren't able to overcome an 11-2 run late in the second half as the Warriors took a 30-13 lead into the locker room.

ESU held Mansfield without a field goal for the final 6:40 of the first half, then had a 10-0 run early in the second half to blow the game open. Gemmell hit a layup and three-pointer on consecutive possessions at the beginning of the run, and Borst scored half of her eight points to push the lead to 30-11 before Mansfield hit two free throws with 30 seconds left in the half.

Mansfield was 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) with 16 turnovers in the opening half, and shot the ball slightly better (7-for-20, 35.0 percent) in the second half but turned it over 18 times. Overall, the Warriors defense held Mansfield to 30.8 percent (12-for-39) from the field and had eight blocked shots and 12 steals.

In the second half, ESU scored 10 straight points from 17:30 to 13:45, extending the lead to 44-20, its largest advantage until the final four minutes. Veres scored four points and the Warriors forced four turnovers in that span.

ESU scored 60+ points in regulation for the third time in nine games and has won all three – 66-59 at Mansfield on January 16, 62-47 vs. Cheyney last Wednesday and this Wednesday night's game with Mansfield to complete the series sweep.

The Warriors will play in the PSAC first round on Saturday, March 2 at a site and opponent to be determined. They finished a three-game homestand and are on the road Saturday at Shippensburg (16-7, 12-6), which fell a game behind PSAC East co-leaders Bloomsburg and Millersville with a 66-58 home loss to Bloomsburg.