Nov. 20, 2007
Box Score
Erie, Pa. -
Mercyhurst freshman center Amy Achesinski had 20 points and 12 rebounds but the Lakers came up short in their bid for an upset, losing to No. 18 Northern Kentucky 83-67 Tuesday. Mercyhurst led 37-30 at the half and stayed in front until the final 12 minutes.
Although Northern Kentucky jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first three minutes, the Lakers quickly battled back. Mercyhurst tied the game with seven consecutive points but the Norse answered with six in a row. Achesinski scored eight of the next nine points and eventually took the lead at 21-19 on a Samantha Loadman jumper with 8:37 to go in the first half.
Stephanie Prischak made one of her three three-pointers on the evening and Achesinski added a lay-up to push the lead to six at 26-20. Northern Kentucky again came back by scoring eight of the next 12 points but Mercyhurst closed the half on a 9-4 run take the 37-30 halftime lead.
In the second half, Northern Kentucky turned up the defense and Mercyhurst showed its youth by committing 22 fouls and 18 turnovers. The Norse scored 27 points at the free-throw line, most of it coming down the stretch.
Mercyhurst still led 48-45 on a Paris Pugliese jumper with 12:47 to play but Northern Kentucky scored the next 11 points and the Lakers never got closer than six the rest of the way.
Five players scored in double figures for Northern Kentucky, led by Angela Healy with 20 points. Nicole Chiodi went 12-of-15 at the free-throw line to score 17.
Mercyhurst had three players score in double figures and four players foul out. Along with Achesinski's 20 points, Prischak had 15 and Loadman added 14. Prischak was 3-of-3 from the three-point line, putting her at 7-of-8 on the year from long range. Achesinski added three assists and three blocked shots.
For the game, Mercyhurst shot 46 percent from the field and made 7-of-13 three-pointers. The Lakers were also 24-of-32 (75 percent) at the charity stripe.
Now 1-2 on the season, Mercyhurst will be back in action Saturday at Tiffin at 7 p.m.
