ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's basketball team lost 77-51 Saturday afternoon to Edinboro at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
Natalie Piaggesi and
Alex Artise each scored 14 points to lead the Lakers in scoring, while Artise grabbed a team-high six rebounds. The loss drops Mercyhurst to 8-16 overall and 5-13 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play. Edinboro improves to 16-6 overall, 13-5 PSAC.
Jessica Bell would put Mercyhurst on the board first with a nice finish inside, to give the Lakers an early 2-0 advantage. Edinboro would rattle off the next seven points, opening up a five point lead at the 16:28 mark. Artise would answer the Fighting Scots spurt, draining one of her two three-point field goals to bring the deficit back to two.
Mercyhurst's defense would contain Edinboro midway through the first half, until the Fighting Scots opened up a 12-2 run that extended their lead to 15 with 6:54 to play. Mercyhurst would trail by as many as 23 in the first half but would take a 21 point deficit into the break, 47-26.
Edinboro went six for 12 from three-point range in the first half and shot 59.4% (19-32) from the field. The Lakers finished off the half one of five from downtown and went 12 of 31 from the field (38.7%).
Both teams would not shoot as well as the first half with the Lakers continuing to struggle from behind the arc, going one of eight in the second half. Edinboro would go onto to make four triples in the second half, bringing their total to 10 for the game. Mercyhurst was unable to get back within single digits, as Edinboro would lead by as many as 35 with 5:52 to play. The Lakers would hold the Fighting Scots scoreless for the remainder of the game, going on a 9-0 run.
Mercyhurst finished shooting 31.9% (22-69) from the field and 15.4% (2-13) from three. The Fighting Scots would shoot 55.4% (31-56) and 50.0% (12-24) from behind the arc. They would also hold the rebound advantage over the Lakers, 41-34. Eight of the nine Lakers registered a field goal, while Lauren Hippo paced Edinboro, scoring a game-high 21 points.The Lakers will take the floor again Wednesday, February 11, at home against conference leading #5 Indiana (Pa.). Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the MAC.
