BUCKHANNON, W. Va.– The Mercyhurst College women's basketball team fell to host West Virginia Wesleyan Sunday afternoon by a 64-57 count.

Senior forward Amy Achesinski headlined the Laker offense, tallying 17 points and seven rebounds as she fell just shy of her sixth consecutive double-double. Sophomore guard Dana Banda scored 16 points and dished out six assists. Sophomore Kaylee Foster added 10 points, while junior Nikki Frederickson added six.

For the Bobcats, Lydia Bridenbaugh led the team with 21 points. Danae Hill and Daria Abros'kina each added 13 points respectively. Jamie Kaufman led the team with 10 rebounds.

West Virginia Wesleyan improved to 6-1 on the year while the Lakers dropped their second consecutive contest to move to 4-6.

West Virginia Wesleyan started the game on a 7-0 run before Mercyhurst scored its first points on an Achesinski jumper two minutes into the game. This jumpstarted the Laker offense and it clawed back to within two points with 14 minutes left in the half.

The Bobcats rallied back and went on a 9-1 run, pushing their lead to 10 with 10 minutes left in the half. Mercyhurst cut that lead to  four with help from senior Janeale Ronai and sophomore Lindsey Burke, who scored back-to-back three pointers.

However, West Virginia Wesleyan continued to battle as the Bobcats scored the next seven points pushing the score to 29-18 with three minutes left to play in the first half. Banda made a 3-pointer with just under three left in the half, and Achesinski added a free-throw to give the hosts a 31-22  lead.

The Lakers shot 36 percent from the field and 60 percent from the line in the first half. The Bobcats managed to get it done at the line, shooting 86 percent (12-of-14).

Two minutes into the second half, West Virginia Wesleyan extended its lead to 14 points on a Danae Hill 3-pointer. This would be the largest margin between the two teams.

The teams would exchange baskets over the next few minutes, until a Banda 3-pointer would ignite the Laker offense again. Foster would score two of her points with just under 12 minutes left to play, tying the game at 42 and then completing the free throw for the old-fashioned 3-point play. to give Mercyhurst its first lead of the game.

The lead wouldn't hold for long though as the Bobcats came right back and scored on a jumper in the paint by Lydia Bridenbaugh. A Frederickson layup would tie the game back up for the Lakers with 10 left to play, but they would watch West Virginia Wesleyan pull away on a 10-0 run, pushing the score to 60-49 with just over three minutes to play.

The Lakers would go on their own run, scoring the next eight points to pull within three as the clock ran under a minute. The Bobcat free-throw shooting at the end of the game would solidify their victory as they shot a perfect 4-of-4.

Mercyhurst ended the game shooting 49 percent from the field (23-of-47) and 56 percent from the line (5-of-9). However, the Lakers did manage to outscore the Bobcats in the second half, 35-33.

West Virginia Wesleyan shot 37 percent from the field (19-of-51) and 88 percent from the line (22-of-25).

Mercyhurst's next contest will be Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m. as the Lakers host Urbana.