Box Score
Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's basketball team overcame a slow start Wednesday, and tied the game in the second half before Gannon pulled away for a 58-48 win Wednesday in front of 732 fans at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
Gannon scored the game's first eight points before
Amy Achesinski made two free throws to get the Lakers on the scoreboard.
Stevie Spetoskey hit a three-pointer to trim the deficit to five points at 10-5 with 12:17 left before halftime. The Golden Knights then went on a 10-3 run over the next eight minutes, taking a 20-8 lead with 4:03 left in the first half. The Lakers forged a 12-4 run of their own to draw to within four points at 24-20 with 29 seconds left in the opening session. Achesinski and
Nikki Frederickson both hit layups,
Stephanie Prischak and
Samantha Loadman made three-pointers, and
Kelsey Gordon hit two free throws during Mercyhurst's late first-half surge. Brittany Tabron scored the last basket of the half, giving Gannon a 26-20 lead.
On the first possession out of intermission,
Megan Hoffman hit a triple to pull the Lakers to within three points at 26-23. The teams traded baskets and Gannon held a 31-26 edge with 16:45 to go in the ballgame. The Lakers scored the next five points, capped by a
Lindsay Whipkey layup that knotted the game a 31 apiece with 14:33 left in regulation. The ensuing three minutes saw Gannon build a six-point lead at 37-31. Mercyhurst continued to trim into the deficit, getting to within three points on several occasions, with the last coming when Achesinski made two free throws to pull to within three points at 49-46 with 3:25 left in the game. The Golden Knights outscored the Lakers 9-2 over the remainder of regulation to claim a 58-48 decision.
Mercyhurst outrebounded Gannon 37-31, including 13-10 in offensive rebounds. The Lakers held Gannon to a season-low three three-pointers out of 15 attempts, well below their PSAC-leading 40.8 percent from behind the arc. The Lakers shot just 32 percent from the field and hit 6-of21 from downtown and 10-of-12 free throws. Gannon shot 41.1 percent from the field. The Golden Knights forced 24 turnovers and scored 26 points off of those turnovers. Gannon committed 15 miscues.
Mercyhurst's record is now 9-11, including a 3-4 PSAC West mark. The Golden Knights improve to 17-3, 5-2 in the PSAC Western Division.
Prischak and Achesinski led the Lakers with 12 points each. Prischak hit 5-of-13 shots, and made two three-point goals, including the 100th three-pointer of her career, making her the 10th Laker to hit 100 career triples. Achesinski went 8-for-10 from the line, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, and blocked two shots.
Loadman made two three-pointers for six points and added two assists. Spetoskey contributed five points on 2-of-4 shooting. Gordon and Whipkey each added four points. Hoffman scored three points and pulled down six rebounds. Frederickson scored two points.
Gannon was led in scoring by Kristina Freeman, who contributed a game-high 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Tiffany Crocker and Carrie Nolan added 12 points each.
The Lakers will play at Slippery Rock Saturday at 1 p.m. The Rock is 7-13, 2-5 in PSAC West play. The Lakers defeated Slippery Rock 80-66 Jan. 14 in their first-ever PSAC West game.
