Box Score

Erie, Pa. – Mercyhurst burst out to a 13-0 lead, and held off a late charge, posting a 60-57 victory over Cheyney Sunday, Jan. 3 in a PSAC crossover women's basketball game at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. The Lakers made 11 three-pointers on the way to their sixth straight victory. Amy Achesinski led the Lakers with 13 points, while Jackie Artise and Samantha Loadman added 12 and 10, respectively.

With the win, the Lakers swept the first weekend of PSAC crossover play and boosted their record to 7-3 overall. Cheyney is now 3-6, having lost both games against PSAC West opponents on the weekend.

Mercyhurst held a 29-21 lead at the half, and pushed the advantage to 12 points when Amy Achesinski hit a three with 15:27 remaining to make it 37-25. Cheyney registered the next six points, converting chances from Laker turnovers to pull to within six at 37-31. The Lakers then went on an 11-3 run, in which Dana Banda scored six points, Nikki Frederickson connected for a triple, and Samantha Loadman tacked on a layup, making it 48-34 with 9:20 to go.

Cheyney whittled the Laker lead to five points at 53-48 with a layup at the 2:05 mark, accenting a 14-5 run. The Wolves were forced to foul, but Mercyhurst made 7-of-8 from the line to salt away a 60-57 victory, and a last-second Charnelle Taylor three-pointer provided the final score.

For the game, Mercyhurst shot 37.5 percent from the field, and also connected on 11-of-29 from three-point range, good for 37.9 percent. The Lakers hit 13-of-15 (86.7%) free throws, and outrebounded Cheyney 39-36, despite the Wolves' 16-10 edge in offensive boards. The Lakers committed 30 turnovers to Cheyney's 17, with the Wolves collecting 14 steals. Cheyney shot 36.8 percent (25-for-58) from the field, and made three threes.

Sunday marked the third game this season during which the Lakers made 10 or more threes. In addition, the Lakers' six game winning streak is the longest since the 1999-2000 team won eight straight early in the season on the way to a 15-12 record.

The first half began with Achesinski hitting two foul shots as a result of a technical foul assessed to Cheyney for improperly reporting the team's starters. Her free throws spurred a 13-0 opening to the game for the Lakers, with Achesinski, Artise and Megan Hoffman each nailing three-point goals during the early stretch. Cheyney went on a 16-4 run, putting the clamps on Mercyhurst with a stifling press defense to draw to within one point at 17-16 with 6:19 remaining in the opening session. The Lakers went nearly six minutes without a field goal. Loadman scored on a layup that sparked a 12-5 skein to end the half, as Mercyhurst took a 29-21 lead into intermission.

Achesinski added six rebounds and three assists to her team-high 13 points, her sixth consecutive game in double-digits in scoring. In addition, she made a career-high two three-pointers. She now has 973 points and 490 rebounds for her career.

Artise hit three triples as part of her 12 points, and also added six rebounds. Loadman reached double-figures for the fourth game in a row, making two three-pointers in her 10-point effort, and also grabbed four boards.

Frederickson added nine points, shooting 4-fot-7 from the field. Hoffman and Banda scored eight points apiece. Hoffman led the Lakers with a career-high eight rebounds and also dished out four assists. Banda recorded five assists and two steals. Lindsay Whipkey contributed four rebounds and a career-best four assists.

The Lakers next travel east for two games at PSAC East opponents. Mercyhurst will play at West Chester Saturday, Jan. 9 and at Millersville Sunday, Jan. 10, with each game beginning at 1 p.m. Mercyhurst beat West Chester and lost to Millersville during last season's crossover play in Erie.