INDIANA, Pa. – The Mercyhurst University women's basketball team battled Indiana (Pa.) Wednesday afternoon in an early Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup, but fell to the Crimson Hawks, 68-57. After coming off a career performance Sunday against Notre Dame (OH), junior forward Jessica Bell led the Lakers in scoring again with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

Mercyhurst trailed the Crimson Hawks by only four heading into the final period of play, 51-47, but came away with only ten points in the fourth quarter.

The IUP defense stayed focused on leading returners Natalie Piaggesi and Adrienne Kloecker, holding them to a combined 4-of-19 shooting and 10 points. Bell and Jalin Steel were the only two Lakers to record double figures, combining for 30 points. Steel finished the contest 3-for-3 from behind the arc, where the rest of the team was 1-for-10.

As a team, Mercyhurst held a slight shooting percentage advantage over IUP, but left six points at the charity strip, going 3-for-9 compared to the Crimson Hawks 16-for-21 performance at the line.

IUP's Lauren Wolosik led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field.

With the loss, Mercyhurst falls to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in PSAC play while IUP improves to 2-0, 1-0 PSAC.

The Lakers will play host to Shippensburg and Kutztown this Saturday and Sunday, November 21 and 22. Tipoff from the Mercyhurst Athletic Center (MAC) for both contests is set for 1:00 p.m.