ERIE, Pa. - Newcomers
Jayde Boyd and
Grace Centrulla each recorded their first collegiate double-double as the Mercyhurst Women's Basketball team outscored the visiting Tigers of Salem University by a 55-21 margin over the final two quarters to cruise to an 82-61 victory on Tuesday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
The two teams exchanged points over the opening 3:36, with
Meghan Komendarek and
Julia Buchman providing the offense for the home team to have things locked at 7-7. Shanysse Alexander knocked down a triple to spark an 8-2 visitors run to lead 15-9 at the halfway point. Boyd picked up the Lakers next four points to get within 17-13, however, the Tigers closed on a 6-3 push taking a 23-16 edge after one.
Emily Shopene began the second on a solo 5-0 run by knocking home a three and sticking a pull-up jumper. Salem got the margin back to five at 26-21, but Komendarek responded with two at the stripe to make it 26-23. The Lakers continued to chip away at the deficit as Centrulla drilled a trey to cut the deficit to one, 29-28. Alicia Smith and
Paige Woodford each hit from long range, before
Nicolette Arnold notched four consecutive points to move the hosts in front 35-32 with 81-seconds to go. Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived as Jordan Crace and Smith organized an 8-2 charge to lead 40-37 at the break. Â
Mercyhurst continued to trail through the first 2:41, before buckets from Arnold and Komendarek sparked an 8-0 run to open up a 46-42 advantage. Salem came back with a 6-2 sprint to level the score at 48-48 with 4:20 to play in the period. Boyd started to assert herself in the game by scoring ten of the Lakers final dozen points of the quarter, with the other bucket going to Buchman to hold a 60-53 edge after 30-minutes. Â
Boyd and Arnold picked up six of the opening eight points of the final frame to push the lead to double-figures 65-55. The trio of Buchman, Boyd and Centrulla all hit on shots extending the cushion to 71-55. An "old-fashioned" three-point play from Arambarri-Fernandez stunted the Lakers momentumn for a brief moment, before Centrulla and Komendarek answered with five straight making it 76-58 at the halfway mark.Â
Lauren Klare, Shopene and Centrulla each hit a two-pointer coming down the stretch for the 82-61 final.
Team Stat Pack
Field Goal % - Hurst, 39.5% (30-76) / Salem, 30.8% (20-65)
Three Point % - Hurst, 26.1% (6-23) / Salem, 26.9% (7-26)
Foul Shooting % - Hurst, 69.6% (16-23) / Salem, 82.4% (14-17)
Rebounds - Hurst, 55 / Salem, 38
Points in Paint - Hurst, 44 / Salem, 22
Turnovers - Hurst, 18 / Salem, 20Â
Mercyhurst Individual Stats
Points - Boyd (24), Centrulla (15), Buchman (11), Arnold and Komendarek (10), Shopene (7)
Rebounds - Boyd (12), Centrulla and Shopene (10), Komendarek (7), Buchman (4)
Assists - Shopene (9), Arnold and Woodford (3)
Salem Individual Stats
Points - Smith and Arambarri Fernandez (14), Quesada (10), Williams (8)
Rebounds - Freeman (9), Arambarri Fernandez (6)
On Deck
The Lakers and Tigers will sqare off again tomorrow at 12pm at the Merchurst Athletic Center.
