Feb. 23, 2008

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - The Gannon women's basketball team jumped out to a 14-2 lead and never looked back, defeating Mercyhurst 95-66 Saturday at the Hammermill Center. The loss ends Mercyhurst's season with a record of 7-20 and 2-15 in the GLIAC.

Mercyhurst never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way as the Lakers shot poorly in the first half and could never recover. The team entered the game ranked second in the GLIAC in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage but Mercyhurst shot 36 percent from the field in the first half and made 6-of-18 three-pointers (33 percent).

Freshman forward Amy Achesinski played just eight minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls and finished with only nine points and five rebounds. Another freshman, Samantha Loadman, ended with a team-high 21 points, making 5-of-12 three-pointers. Kelsey Gordon added six points and a career-high five assists.

Gannon led by as many as 26 points in the first half but a 13-5 Laker run to close the half made it 48-30 at the break. Mercyhurst cut the deficit to 15 points on a pair of Achesinski free-throws with 15:04 to play but the Golden Knights outscored the Lakers 36-22 the rest of the way.

Mercyhurst's first season under head coach Deanna Richard comes to a close with the loss. The Lakers had no seniors on this year's team and should return a strong nucleus in their first season in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in 2008-09.