ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's basketball team falls to Gannon at the Hammermill Center Saturday afternoon, 59-49.
Natalie Piaggesi led the Lakers in scoring with 13 and pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
Mercyhurst would open up a 10 point lead early in the first half, 14-4. A 12-0 run by the Lakers was sparked by three buckets in the paint. Piaggesi got off to a hot start, scoring six of the first eight points of the game. The run concluded at the 13:59 mark with back-to-back triples from
Mariah Penascino and
Alex Artise.
The Golden Knights would cut the Laker advantage to three, 20-17, with 7:08 to play in the first half.
Angela Heintz would put Mercyhurst ahead by five following the Golden Knights 13-6 spurt off a made jumper at the elbow. However, Gannon would go on to outscore the Lakers 9-3 in the final 6:46 of the half to take a one point advantage into halftime, 26-25.
Piaggesi would again start the half strong, scoring the first five Laker points, as she converted on a and-one play to cut the Gannon lead back to one. The Golden Knights would respond with a 17-4 run over an 8:26 span to open up a 14 point lead, 48-34. Heintz would weather the storm, as she scored the next five Laker points.
Mercyhurst was unable to cut the lead back to within single digits, as Gannon would open up their largest lead of the game (15) at the 4:25 mark, 54-39. The Lakers would outscore the Golden Knights down the stretch, 10-5, but ran out of time, as Gannon held on for their eighth consecutive victory.
Other than Piaggesi, Heintz was the only Laker who finished in double-digits, scoring 11 points on 5-12 shooting. Artise ended with nine, draining three triples. She has now made three three-pointers in her last three games.
Mercyhurst's bench outscored Gannon's, 15-6, in the contest, and shot better from the field, as the Lakers finished shooting 38.2% (21-55). Mercyhurst would also only reach the foul line twice, going 1-2 from the line. Gannon would shoot 17 free-throws, as they finished 64.7% (11-17) from the charity stripe.
With the loss, the Lakers fall to 8-14 overall, and 5-11 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play. Gannon improves to 15-5, 14-2.
Mercyhurst will be back in action Wednesday, February 4, against Slippery Rock. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Morrow Field House.
