Box Score

ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst women's basketball team lost, 64-62, to Clarion Wednesday at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Dana Banda scored 23 points to lead the Lakers in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division defeat.
 
Mercyhurst rallied late, as Banda made a layup with 3:28 remaining to make it 61-57. After a Clarion free throw, Alayna White scored inside with 1:46 to play to put her team down 62-59. Tania Holmes answered with a pair of free throws on the Eagles' possession. The teams traded scoreless possessions before Banda's lay-in made it 64-61 with 42 seconds left.
 
Clarion turned the ball over on its trip down, allowing the Lakers to set up a tying shot. Banda missed a three and then Lindsey Burke's attempt rimmed out with eight seconds to play. Abby Allen grabbed another offensive rebound and was fouled. She made the first shot and intentionally missed the second, but Holmes corralled the board to seal the victory.
 
The visitors went up 7-0 and 11-2 before the Lakers got going. A Burke trey made it 11-5 and then Kaylee Foster connected from deep with 15:18 showing on the clock. Another Burke triple got the hosts within two and then White came off the bench with a layup and a three-pointer to give Mercyhurst a 19-17 edge with 12:35 remaining in the first frame.
 
A Taylor Krusinski jumper put the Lakers ahead, 23-18, but the Eagles responded with six straight points to take the lead. Banda drained a three at the 4:53 mark to regain the advantage. She continued her hot half with another trey to expand the margin. After Clarion evened the score at 29, Banda came back with yet another three and then an old-fashioned three-point play to put the home team up, 35-29, with under a minute to go. A Clarion bucket made it 35-31 at the half.
 
Layups by Foster and Adrienne Kloecker stretched the Laker lead to 39-31 early in the second half. After a Banda basket with 16:37 left, Mercyhurst led, 43-35. However, the Eagles continued to pressure the hosts. Holmes scored twice and then Aleya Miller hit a three to tie the score with 13:13 to play.
 
White made a layup and a triple to put her team up, 50-47 at the 10:02 mark, but Clarion responded with a three-point play to tie it. Lauren Savulchak's three with 9:17 left gave Clarion a lead it would not surrender.  
 
Banda went 8-17 from the field and 4-5 from the foul line for 23 points. She also had three rebounds and three assists. White added 12 points and seven boards. Foster posted nine points and five rebounds, while Paris Thomas dished out six assists in 16 minutes. Holmes paced Clarion with 16 points, while Hannah Heeter had 14 boards. Heeter led an Eagle rebounding attack that had a 40-30 advantage in the match.
 
The Lakers shot 22-55 (40 percent) from the floor and Clarion was 25-57 (43.9 percent) on its tries.
 
Mercyhurst is now 4-10 overall and 4-6 in the PSAC. Clarion improved to 8-8 and 4-6 in the conference.
 
The Lakers travel for a three-game road trip starting Saturday, January 19. They play at Slippery Rock in another PSAC West match with a 1 p.m. tip-off scheduled.