WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's basketball team continued their strong run against the Eastern division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference as they knocked off the Golden Rams of West Chester 57-55 on Saturday afternoon at Hollinger Field House to remain undefeated in PSAC action.
It would be Mercyhurst who took the early lead in the first as
Nicolete Newman and Vivan Allison drilled a pair of jumpers, while
Amber Renz stuck two free throws to go ahead 6-2, 1:56 into the game. Kyra Jefferson and Leah Johnson kept West Chester nearby at 8-6, but
Emily Shopene pushed the edge out to five with a three-pointer at the 4:08 mark to make it 11-6. Katherine Fisher picked up four of the next five Golden Rams points to get even 11-11 with three minutes left.
Eliza Oswalt and
Stephanie Petery each scored a basket to keep the score level 15-15 after one.
Through the opening six minutes of the second quarter neither side could seize control with neither team holding larger than a two-point edge with a Johnson layup knotting things back up at 21-21. The Lakers looked to separate themselves from their hosts as a
Lauren Lapertosa layup led to an 8-2 run that saw her score five of the points with the rest coming on a triple by Newman to take a 29-23 advantage. Justyn Roberts hit two free throws and Fisher netted a layup to close the gap to 29-27 at half.
Jefferson tied the game back up at 29-29, 38-seconds into the third. West Chester took their first lead of the frame 33-31 thanks to foul shots for Fisher with 7:36 to go. The advantage would be short-lived as Renz laid one up and in to draw even at 33-33, which resulted in Mercyhurst closing the period on a 13-3 charge to lead 44-36. That stretch was led by five for Shopene and four for Renz with Oswalt along with Lapertosa each hitting a bucket.
Roberts began the fourth with back-to-back baskets to trim the margin to 44-40 just over a minute in. The Lakers extended their advantage out to nine, 49-40 on a 5-0 run in a 1:04 span. With the visitors on top 50-42, the Golden Rams got two buckets by Gabrielle Troisi and one for Jefferson to make it 50-48 just under three to go. West Chester closed to within one on two occassions at 52-51 and 54-53, but Lapertosa and Renz made their free throws down the stretch to close out the slim victory.
The Lakers shot 44.9% from the field to the Golden Rams 35.3%. Neither team shot well from beyond the arc with Mercyhurst going 2-14, while West Chester went 0-3. Mercyhurst held a slim 36-34 edge in the paint.
Renz led the Lakers with 20 points. Lapertosa and Shopene each added 11. Lapertosa was the leading rebounder with six, while
Kori Sidwell and Newman each hauled in five.
Fisher had 19 to lead all players, while Johnson chipped in a dozen. Fisher also had a game-high eight boards.
Mercyhurst will take a break for finals next week before returning to non-conference action on Monday, December 16th at Hillsdale College.
