Box Score

Erie, Pa. – Stephanie Prischak scored 22 of her game-high 26 points in the second half, leading the Mercyhurst women's basketball team to a 77-67 victory over visiting West Chester Saturday at the MAC. The Lakers oustcored the Golden Rams 22-10 over the final eight minutes of play to seal the victory. 

Mercyhurst is now 6-6 on the season, while West Chester falls to 7-5. 

Mercyhurst trailed 57-55 with 8:01 remaining, as Renata Neal made a layup to break the 10th tie of the contest. Less than one minute later, Jackie Artise drained a three-pointer to give the Lakers a one-point lead at 58-57. The triple was the start of a key 9-0 Mercyhurst run capped by a free throw from Samantha Loadman with 3:27 left in the game that gave the Lakers a 64-57 lead. The Golden Rams trimmed the deficit to five on the next possession, followed by the teams trading threes, and then the Lakers iced the game late, pulling away for a 77-67 victory. 

Artise and Prischak combined for 16 of the Lakers' final 22 points in their 22-10 surge to victory, as Artise hit three three-pointers in the stretch and Prischak scored seven points to give her 22 for the half and 26 for the game. 

The second half began with West Chester leading 34-32 and went back-and-forth, with the teams trading the lead several times. Mercyhurst ran out to a six-point lead at 51-45 with 12 minutes left on a Prischak jumper, but West Chester responded with the next seven points to take the lead at 52-51. 

The Lakers shot 55.2 percent from the field, including 41.7 percent from downtown, in the second half and also made 8-of-10 free throws. West Chester shot 40.6 percent from the field and made four out of 10 three-point attempts in the second half. For the game, the Lakers shot 48.1 percent from the field and nailed eight three-pointers. The Golden Rams held a slight rebounding advantage, 35-32. 

The first half was evenly played, as the lead changed three times, with the largest lead by either team standing at four points, as the Lakers led 15-11 with 10:32 left in the opening session. Amy Achesinski dominated the paint in the first half, scoring 16 points on 4-of-5 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free throw stripe. 

Prischak scored 26 points for the game, and notched 22 of those markers in the second half. She shot 9-for-17 from the field, including 3-for-7 from behind the arc, and also made five out of six free throws. She has made two or more three-pointers in 11 out of 12 games this season. She led the team with six assists, five steals and grabbed five rebounds. Prischak has now scored 945 points in 77 career games. 

Achesinski scored 18 points, including 16 in the first half, and also grabbed five rebounds. Loadman joined Achesinski and Prischak in double-figures, scoring 10 points and adding a team-high six rebounds. 

Artise made three three-pointers for nine points and dished out a career-high five assists. Lindsay Whipkey contributed six points and five rebounds. Janeale Ronai added one three-pointer for three points. Mara Dreiser and Stevie Spetoskey evenly split four points. Megan Hoffman scored one point and contributed five rebounds. 

Dana Weems and Megan Stewart each scored 12 points for West Chester and Weems led with 11 rebounds, while Stewart added five assists. 

The Lakers are 2-1 against PSAC East opponents this season and will play Millersville Sunday at the MAC at 1 p.m. The Marauders are 10-2 after defeating Slippery Rock Saturday. Sunday will be the third meeting between Mercyhurst and Millersville, with each team having posted one win against the other all-time.