Jan. 31, 2008

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's basketball team fell short in an upset bid of Northwood in a 68-67 loss Thursday. The game came down to the final possession when the Timberwolves got an offensive rebound and a basket with seven seconds left to steal a win from the Lakers. Amy Achesinski led the Lakers with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Paris Pugliese also contributed 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Lakers climbed back from a 13 point deficit at the 15:32 mark in the second half to tie it at 64 with 2:49 left in the game. Mercyhurst took the lead for the first time all game with 1:25 left off of a layup by Paris Pugliese. A missed lay-up by both teams gave the Timberwolves their final possession with 22 seconds left.

After a timeout, Megan Starnes missed a jumper but Karlie LeRoy grabbed the offensive rebound and eventually got the ball to Katie Gonta for the game-winning lay-up. Paris Pugliese missed one final shot with three seconds left that could have given Mercyhurst the win.

Northwood jumped out to an early 9-0 lead before the Lakers battled back to tie the score at 27-27 with 6:39 left in the half. The Lakers slipped defensively as the Timberwolves scored 17 points down the stretch to take a 45-38 halftime lead.

Northwood extended the lead to as many as 13 points on a Sarah Glowacki lay-up with 15:32 to play in the second half at 57-44 and the Timberwolves still led 64-54 with 7:04 left. But Mercyhurst scored the next 11 points and held Northwood scoreless for almost five minutes. After shooting 64 percent from the field in the first half, Northwood was held to 39 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.

In addition to Achesinski and Pugliese, Samantha Loadman and Stephanie Prischak each contributed 12 points. Pugliese added seven rebounds and five assists while Achesinski was 8-of-10 shooting.

Northwood improves to 13-6 on the year and 8-3 in GLIAC play as Mercyhurst falls to 6-15 and 1-10 in the conference. The Lakers return to the MAC Saturday to host GLIAC opponent Saginaw Valley State at 1 p.m. for Back To The Future Day as the school honors the 1972-73 and 1977-78 men's basketball teams.