SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Mercyhurst University women's basketball team got off to a slow start Saturday afternoon and eventually absorbed a 70-46 loss at Shippensburg in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover game. The Lakers dropped to 3-10 overall and to 1-7 in the conference while the Red Raiders improved to 7-6 and 3-4 respectively.
Mercyhurst was held without a field goal for the first eight minutes of the game. Sophomore
Natalie Piaggesi's two free throws tied the contest for the only time at 2-2. Junior
Adrienne Kloecker hit a triple with 11:56 left in the half to trim the Red Raiders' lead to 10-5. Three minutes later, however, Shippensburg had opened a 21-5 advantage. The Lakers closed to within 27-16 late in the half, but the Red Raiders went on a 10-2 run to extend the lead to 37-18 at the break.
The Red Raiders led by as many as 27 points in the second half (52-25) before settling for the 24-point victory.
Sophomore guard
Angela Heintz came off the bench for Mercyhurst to score a game-high 15 points in 17 minutes. Heintz was 5-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long range. Kloecker added 14 while Piaggesi finished with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. No other Laker scored more than three points.
Eleven players scored for the Red Raiders who were led by sophomore Morgan Griffith with 14. Griffith also led all rebounders with 12. Sophomore Colleen Young and redshirt-freshman Victoria Blackburn finished with 10 points apiece.
Except for Heintz, Mercyhurst was cold from the floor, converting just 13 of 53 attempts overall (24.5%). Six of Mercyhurst's baskets were triples.
Shippensburg outrebounded Mercyhurst 45-36 and scored 20 points off 16 Laker turnovers. Shippensburg improved to 3-3 at home while the Lakers dropped to 0-8 on the road.
Mercyhurst will visit Kutztown Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in another conference crossover game.
