ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's basketball team dropped an 81-59 decision to #13 Indiana (Pa.), 81-59.
Natalie Piaggesi scored a game-high 22 points in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division contest Wednesday night at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
A slow start for the Lakers helped them fall into a 10 point deficit early, 14-4, just five minutes into the game.
Adrienne Kloecker would cut the lead to seven, when she drained a three off a pass from Piaggesi. IUP would respond, scoring the next eight points, to open up a 15 point lead with 11:15 remaining in the half. The Crimson Hawks owned the paint in the first half, outscoring Mercyhurst 20-2, as they had no answer for IUP on the defensive end. Indiana (Pa.) was red hot shooting the ball in the first, finishing 53.3% (16-30) from the field. Mercyhurst shot 8-of-29 (27.6%) from the field and went into the break down, 46-24.
In the second half, the Lakers were unable to pull back within single digits to the highly touted Crimson Hawks. IUP would lead by as many as 33 and would go onto to win after losing to California (Pa.) last weekend in a battle for first place in the PSAC Western Division. The Lakers did take back control of the paint in the second half, outscoring Indiana (Pa.) 10-8 in the final frame. They also matched IUP in scoring in the second half, as they each scored 35 points in the half.
Mercyhurst finished shooting 20-of-57 (35.1%) from the field and 5-of-11 (45.5%) from downtown. Four of the five three-point field goals were produced by
Angela Heintz. Heintz went 4-6 from beyond the arc, as she finished with 20 points. Piaggesi and Heintz combined for 44 of the 59 Mercyhurst points. Kloecker finished with nine. Lindsay Stamp paced the Crimson Hawks, scoring 13 points.
With the loss, the Lakers drop their fifth straight game and fall to 8-17 overall, 5-14 PSAC. Indiana (Pa.) improves to 20-2 overall and 16-2 in PSAC play.Mercyhurst will take the floor again Saturday, when they host Clarion at the MAC. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
