Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's basketball team will play host to West Chester Saturday and Millersville Sunday in PSAC crossover play. The games will not count toward conference standings, as Mercyhurst is in the PSAC West and their two weekend opponents compete in the PSAC East.
The Lakers bring a 5-6 record into the weekend, having split their weekend series of crossover games Jan. 3 and 4 at Shippensburg and Cheyney. Mercyhurst has not played at the MAC in nearly a month, and has only played two out of their first 11 games at home.
Mercyhurst's last home game was Dec. 13, 2008, a 66-51 win over Lake Erie which saw the Lakers set a program record with 14 made three-pointers, led by seven from sophomore Samantha Loadman.
Mercyhurst features two of the best shooters in NCAA Division II, as senior Stephanie Prischak is shooting .466 from behind the arc, good for 24th in the nation, and sophomore Amy Achesinski is 29th in the nation with a .576 field goal percentage. As a team, the Lakers average nearly seven three-pointers per contest.
Saturday's contest between Mercyhurst and West Chester will be the first meeting between the two schools. West Chester brings a 7-4 record to the MAC, but has lost three out of four contests. The game will feature the reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year in Mercyhurst's Amy Achesinski, as well as last year's PSAC East Player of the Year, Dana Weems and 2007-08 PSAC East Rookie of the Year Megan Stewart, both playing for West Chester. West Chester is sixth in the nation in steals per game at 15.1. Weems leads the team in scoring (14.6 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg) and steals (3.1 spg). Janelle Garber averages 10.3 point per game and Stewart scores 10.2 points per contest.
Sunday's game will be the first contest between Mercyhurst and Millersville. The Marauders (9-2) have the fifth best defense in the nation, yielding just 49 points per game. They are ninth in NCAA Division II in steals per game and turnover margin. Millersville is the defending PSAC East regular season champion, having gone 12-0 in conference play a year ago. The Marauders have won two out of three games against PSAC West opponents this season, defeating Lock Haven and Indiana (Pa.) before losing to California (Pa.) Sunday. Six Marauders average between seven and 13 points per game, led by Gladine St. Julien at 12.8. Jenna Craig scores 10.3 points per contest and leads Millersville with 9.1 rebounds per game.
The Lakers will play their first-ever PSAC West contest Wednesday, Jan. 14 at home against Slippery Rock.
