Box Score

Buckhannon, W. Va – The Mercyhurst women's basketball team received a career-high 28 points from senior Stephanie Prischak but was unable to prevail Friday at West Virginia Wesleayan, dropping a 79-54 decision.

 

The Lakers built a 6-0 lead to begin the game, as Amy Achesinki scored the first basket followed by four points from Prischak. After the teams traded baskets, Prischak nailed a three-pointer to give the Lakers an 11-4 lead with just under 16 minutes left in the first half. The Bobcats then went on a 6-0 run to take a 14-13 lead. Prischak recorded 11 of the Lakers' first 13 points.

 

Achesinski scored a three-point play to give Mercyhurst its last lead at 16-14 with 10:46 remaining in the opening session. West Virginia Wesleyan then went on a 12-0 run to claim a 26-16 advantage. Lindsay Whipkey made a layup for the Lakers to trim the margin to eight points at 26-18 with 6:00 left on the first half clock. The Bobcats immediately went on another 12-0 run as part of their 31-9 surge to end the first half leading 46-25.

 

Prischak scored 16 points in the first half, as did Sarah Van Horn for W. Va. Wesleyan. The Lakers shot 39 percent from the field (9-23) in the opening session, compared to the Bobcats' 44.1 percent shooting (15-34). Mercyhurst committed 17 first-half turnovers to West Virginia Wesleyan's six and were outrebounded 21-14 in the first half.

 

The Lakers came out strong in the second half, making a 7-3 run to cut the deficit to 17 points at 49-32 with 16:20 left in the game. After a 5-0 Bobcat run, Achesinski scored a basket to make it 54-34 with 12:51 remaining; the closest Mercyhurst would get the rest of the way.

 

W. Va. Wesleyan pulled away in the next five and a half minutes, building a 30-point lead at 72-42. The Lakers outscored the Bobcats 12-5 during the final seven minutes of play, and W. Va. Wesleyan prevailed 79-54.

 

For the game, the Bobcats shot 45.9 percent from the field, including 8-for-16 from behind the arc, and also sank 15 out of their 19 free throw attempts. The Lakers shot 36.4 percent from the field, including 23.5 percent from three-point range. W. Va Wesleyan held a slight 40-36 edge in rebounds. The Bobcats turned 27 Laker turnovers into 24 points of their own, while Mercyhurst scored 17 points off of turnovers during the contest.

 

Prischak led the Lakers with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc, tying a career-high in made three-point goals. She also led the team with five steals. Her previous career high in points came Feb. 7, 2008 vs. Wayne State. Prischak also eclipsed the 800-point barrier in her career during the game.

 

Achesinski reached double-figures with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Freshman Abby Allen scored four points and recorded six rebounds and two assists in her first career start. Whipkey contributed four points and a team-leading seven rebounds. Stevie Spetoskey tallied four points, while Samantha Loadman pulled down five boards. Freshman Meghan Dougherty scored her first two career points and Kelsey Gordon scored one point.

 

For the Bobcats, Van Horn scored 24 points and grabbed a game-high eight boards leading three players in double-figures. Elise McClintic and Lydia Bridenbaugh evenly split 24 points.

 

Mercyhurst falls to 1-3 on the season, while W. Va. Wesleyan improves to 3-3 on the campaign. The Bobcats have now faced five PSAC opponents, going 2-3 against those teams.

 

The Lakers play one more game in West Virginia, Sunday at Wheeling Jesuit, with game time scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Live video of the game will be available through the WJU athletics website.