ERIE, Pa. - After a tough defeat before Thanksgiving to non-conference foe Ursuline College the Mercyhurst women's basketball team will look to continue their unbeaten run in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon when they square off with the Golden Rams of West Chester University in another East-West crossover game.

Game Information
Opponent - West Chester Golden Rams
Date - Saturday, December 7
Time - 1 pm
Series History - WCU leads 5-3 (Golden Rams won last meeting 72-53 on 12/9/17 at home)
Mercyhurst Game Notes
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Live Stats
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Last Time Out
The Lakers dropped a non-conference contest to the visiting Arrows by a score of 68-63 last Wednesday at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.  Mercyhurst trailed by one after one and three at the half, but had the game get out of reach in the third as they were outscored 25-18 aided by a 15-2 run over a four-minute stretch leaving them behind 55-45.  The final frame saw the host get to within three, 66-63 with just under a minute and a half to go, but they could not complete the comeback.  Nicolete Newman led the Lakers with 14 points and Amber Renz also hit double-figures with 12.  Lauren Lapertosa added eight, while Emily Shopene and Stephanie Petery chipped in seven each.

Scouting the Lakers (2-5, 2-0 PSAC)
Team Numbers
Mercyhurst is averaging 69.3 points per game shooting 43.9% from the field, 29.5% beyond the arc, and 70.1% on the charity stripe.  The Lakers hand out 15 assists per game, while hauling in 36.6 rebounds per game.  They also average three blocks per contest.  

NCAA Leaders
Lapertosa leads the country in assist-turnover ratio at 4.20.  Eliza Oswalt sits at 27th nationally and tops in the PSAC on the foul line shooting 90.9%, while Renz ranks 39th in field goal percentage at 57.6%.

Protect the Ball
Turnovers have been a problem for the Lakers so far, but they have brought their average down from 19 at the beginning of the season to 16.3 per contest.  However, while the average has dropped they have still committed more turnovers than their opponents in five of their seven games so far.      

Ball Hogs
The Lakers as a team have totaled 47 steals on the season, averaging 6.7 per game.  Shopene and Lapertosa both have ten apiece, followed by Newman with eight.  Oswalt has six and Vivian Allison along with Renz each have four.  

Crash the Boards
Mercyhurst continues to hold a slim edge in the rebound margin at a +2.3 (36.6 to 34.3).  Lapertosa is the team leader with 6.4 rpg, followed by 4.3 for Newman and Shopene with 4.0.  Allison, Renz, and Oswalt all average over three boards per game.  

Scoring Duo
The duo of Renz (13.6) and Newman (10.9) lead the attack for the Lakers with both averaging double-figures.  Shopene is just off the mark at 9.9, while Oswalt and Lapertosa each post over eight points per contest.

Block Party
Komendarek has nine of the Lakers 21 blocks who average 3.0 bpg as a team.  Renz has three and Lapertosa along with Kori Sidwell have each recorded two.

Scouting the Golden Rams (3-4, 1-1 PSAC)
West Chester enters Saturday coming off a win their last time out 78-74 on the road at Clarion University.  As a unit they shoot 42.3% from the floor, 27.7% outside the arc, and 70.7% at the stripe.  The Golden Rams have a -2 scoring margin giving up 73.9 per game while only scoring 71.9.  They rank inside the Top-50 nationally in assists per game (17.0) and assist-turnover ratio (1.11) which are good for 32nd and 43rd respectively.  West Chester relies on a quartet of players to produce most of the offense led by Alexis Anderson and her 14.5 ppg.  Justyn Roberts adds 13.5, Leah Johnson chips in 11.6 and Katherine Fisher rounds out the group dropping 11.1 per contest.  Gabrielle Troisi is the leading rebounder bringing in 7.4 per game, followed by over five boards each for Sasha Marvel, Roberts, and Johnson.  West Chester alum Kera Wooden is in her sixth year leading the Golden Rams.  

Road Warriors
The Lakers will play their final three game until Winter Break on the road as they will visit Hillsdale (Dec. 16),  Bloomsburg (Dec. 20), and East Stroudsburg (Dec. 21).  Mercyhurst will not return home until January 3rd when they welcome the Griffins of Seton Hill University to the Athletic Center.