Box Score

Erie, Pa. – Mercyhurst controlled the glass and received a career-high 16 points from Dana Banda and an Amy Achesinski double-double, holding off a late charge by Wheeling Jesuit to win 70-66 Wednesday, Dec. 9 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

With the win, its second in a row, Mercyhurst evens its record at 3-3. Wheeling Jesuit is now 4-2.

WJU utilized its three-point shooting to great effect, but was unable to find the equalizer at the end. The Cardinals trailed 67-65 after a Chrissy Pavlik three with 3:05 left in the game. Wheeling Jesuit was forced to foul for a majority of the rest of the contest, but the Lakers made just one of two from the line on three occasions.

A Kim Mueller free throw sliced the Mercyhurst lead to three points at 69-66 with 1:42 remaining. The Cardinals' Cassy Sanderson rimmed out a game-tying triple attempt with one minute left, and WJU turned the ball over on a shot clock violation on its next possession. One free throw from Samantha Loadman iced the game, giving Mercyhurst a 70-66 victory.

The Lakers trailed by one point after the first half, but came out of intermission firing, as Dana Banda made a three to give Mercyhurst a 34-32 lead with 18:58 remaining. Wheeling Jesuit scored on its next possession, but Mercyhurst tallied the next five points on a three from Jackie Artise and a layup by Nikki Frederickson. The Lakers built their lead to seven points at 47-40 on a Frederickson layup.

The Cardinals went on a 12-5 run over the next five minutes, tying the game at 52-52 with 9:42 left in the game. Megan Hoffman drained a triple to give the Lakers a 55-52 lead on the next possession, and WJU never evened the game from that point on. Kaylee Foster made a reverse layup with 7:23 left for a 61-56 lead. WJU answered with a three-pointer, and drew to within one point at 62-60 with five minutes left. Banda scored the next five Laker points, and the home team led 67-62 with 3:13 left.

Mercyhurst controlled the scoreboard for most of the first half. Banda made two three-pointers and had eight points in the first half, while Amy Achesinski posted seven points and five boards in the initial 20 minutes. The home team built its lead to as many as eight points, at 29-21, when Artise hit a three-pointer. Kourtney Booth scored seven of points in a 9-2 WJU run over the final 1:32 of the first session, and WJU led 32-31 after 20 minutes. Mercyhurst freshman Kelsey Trosch scored her first career basket on a putback with 40 seconds left in the first half.

For the game, the Lakers outrebounded the Cardinals 47-28, the fifth game in a row in which Mercyhurst has grabbed 40 or more boards. The Lakers shot 46 percent from the field, including 40 percent (8-for-20) from behind the arc. WJU shot 39.7 from the field and connected on 9-of-25 three-point shots. Mercyhurst turned the ball over 24 times, while the Cardinals had 14 turnovers.

Banda led Mercyhurst with a career-high 16 points, sinking 5-of-10 shots, including 4-of-10 from downtown. She also paced the team with five assists.

Achesinski contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds, posting her 16th career double-double, and third of the season.

Artise made two three pointers and added three FT's for nine points, and led the team with two steals. Frederickson and Lindsay Whipkey each posted eight points and five rebounds. Foster added seven points and four boards. Loadman scored four points, while Hoffman tallied three points along with four rebounds and three assists. Trosch made one basket.

Kourtney Booth led the Cardinals with a game-high 19 points, including three three-pointers. Cassy Sanderson and Megan Stuvek also broke into double figures, with 12 and 10, respectively.

The Lakers next play at Lake Erie College Thursday, Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m. Mercyhurst defeated the Storm 66-51 in their last meeting, Dec. 13, 2008, as they made a program-record 14 three-pointers in the game.