Box Score

West Chester, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's basketball team stretched its winning streak to seven, executing efficient three-point shooting, balanced scoring and stingy defense on the way to a 67-60 victory at West Chester Saturday, Jan. 9. Amy Achesinski led four scorers in double figures with 16 points, as Nikki Frederickson, Megan Hoffman and Samantha Loadman tallied 12 apiece.

Mercyhurst defeated West Chester for the second season in a row, and improved its season record to 8-3. The Golden Rams, listed among others receiving votes in the most recent national poll, are now 9-3. The Lakers have gone 4-0 against PSAC East teams so far in 2009-10.

The second half began with Mercyhurst holding a slim 29-28 lead, and West Chester went ahead 32-29 early on, but the visiting team tied the ballgame at 32-32 with 18:42 remaining when Jackie Artise nailed the first of five Mercyhurst triples in the second half. The Lakers staked a 50-41 edge with 13:18 left, using a 21-9 run to build a margin, during which they made four triples, including two from Megan Hoffman and one each from Nikki Frederickson and Jackie Artise.

While West Chester played a full-court press and a zone in the half-court set, Mercyhurst generated fastbreak opportunities and open shots around the court, and maintained its 10-point advantage at 59-49 with 8:17 to go in the contest. WCU immediately staged their signature run, getting baskets in transition while scoring seven unanswered tallies to slice the deficit to three points at 59-56 with 2:44 left. The Golden Rams then resorted to the foul game, which backfired when Mercyhurst drilled its last eight attempts from the charity stripe, sealing the 67-60 victory.

For the game, the Lakers shot 48.9 percent from the field, 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from downtown, and 86.7 percent from the foul line. Mercyhurst countered its 23 turnovers with a season-high 16 takeaways. For the first time this season, the Lakers lost the rebounding battle 34-25, but led in second-chance points, 7-4. WCU hit for 44.1 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the line, making just one three.

The first half of the contest was a defensive struggle, with each team having difficulty controlling the ball and getting good scoring chances. The Lakers took a nine-point lead at 13-4 midway through the half after a Lindsay Whipkey three-point play. West Chester controlled play for a majority of the rest of the half, going on a 24-10 run to take a five-point lead at 28-23 with 2:53 left in the first session. Mercyhurst closed the initial 20 minutes with six unanswered points on a jumper by Frederickson and a free throw from Amy Achesinski surrounding a Loadman triple, and took a 29-29 lead into the half.

The Lakers' current seven game winning streak is the longest since the 1999-2000 team won eight straight early in the season. Mercyhurst has not scored less than 60 points during any of the last seven contests.

Achesinski led the balanced effort with 16 points and seven rebounds, pacing the team for the fourth straight game. She also led the team with a career-best six assists. Achesinski has now tallied 989 points and collected 497 rebounds during her career. She has moved into a tie for 16th place in scoring and is ninth in rebounds in program history.

Four lakers hit two three-pointers apiece, including all three 12-point scorers. Frederickson went 5-of-7 from the field and hit both triple attempts, adding a career-high two steals. Hoffman, who tied a career high in scoring, made all of her shot attempts, (3-3 FG, 2-2 3FG, 4-4 FT), and had three steals. Loadman made two threes as part of a 4-of-10 performance, and nailed her two foul shots, also recording four assists.

Artise made two three-pointers, and totaled eight points. Dana Banda helped trigger the offense with four assists and five steals to go with four points. Whipkey earned three markers.

Janelle Garber and Allison Hostetter notched 13 points apiece for WCU.

The Lakers complete their PSAC crossover schedule Sunday, Jan. 10 at Millersville, with tip-off set for 1 p.m. The Marauders bring a 9-3 record into the matchup following a 72-53 victory over Slippery Rock Saturday.