Box Score

Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's basketball team was unable to come back from a large early deficit against a stingy Millersville defense, as the Lakers fell 53-44 to the visiting Marauders Sunday at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. 

The Lakers trailed 19-4 after seven minutes of play in the first half, as the Marauders forced seven turnovers which they turned into 11 points during their opening flourish. Mercyhurst cut into Millersville's lead with a 9-0 run over the next five minutes, and trailed 19-13 after Jackie Artise hit a three-pointer with 8:25 left in the first half. 

Neither team scored in the ensuing three minutes until Millersville's Aiesha Bellamy hit a jumper to make it 21-13. Samantha Loadman answered with a three-pointer to trim the margin to five points at 21-16 with 5:02 remaining in the first half, which would be the closest the Lakers would get from that point on. The Marauders ended the half on a 10-2 run and took a 31-18 lead into intermission. 

Millersville shot 61.9 percent from the field and outscored Mercyhurst 20-2 in the paint in the first half. The Lakers shot 41.2 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range in the opening session. 

Stephanie Prischak opened the second half by hitting a triple to pull the Lakers to within 10 points at 31-21, and then the teams played evenly with Millersville's lead hovering around 10 points for a majority of the second half. A three-point play gave the Marauders a 41-29 advantage with 12:22 to play, followed by a 5-0 Laker burst, capped by a three from Artise with 10:12 remaining that brought Mercyhurst to within seven points at 41-34. Millersville controlled play the rest of the way and emerged with a 53-44 win. 

Mercyhurst shot 35.6 percent from the field for the game compared to Millersville's 46.7 percent. The Lakers won the rebounding battle 34-27. Both teams suffered 20 or more turnovers, as the Lakers had 26 to Millersville's 20. Millersville outscored Mercyhurst 30-10 in the paint and 15-4 in second-chance points for the game. 

Artise led the Lakers with a season-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including four made three-point goals. She also paced the squad with a season-high eight rebounds. She is the fourth different player to lead the Lakers in single-game scoring this season. 

Prischak finished with 10 points and led the team with four assists and three steals. Amy Achesinski scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds. 

Megan Hoffman scored five points and Lindsay Whipkey added four markers. Loadman contributed three points and Abby Allen had two. 

Millersville placed three players in double-figures, led by Gladine St. Julien's 20 points. 

Mercyhurst is 6-7 heading into divisional play, while Millersville improved to 11-2 on the season. 

The Lakers play their first-ever PSAC West contest Wednesday night against Slippery Rock at the MAC, with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m.