ERIE, Pa. - Sophomore transfer
Jayde Boyd led all scorers with a game-high 16 points as the Mercyhurst Women's Basketball team knocked off the visiting Lincoln University Lions on Tuesday afternoon in the regular season opener at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
The Lakers came out of the gates extremely strong as
Julia Buchman netted five quick points, before
Emily Shopene buried a triple to put the home team up 8-1 with 2:14 gone. Kryshell Gordy hit on a layup to make it 8-3, but then Mercyhurst continued to put on the pressure thanks to baskets from
Grace Centrulla,
Paige Woodford and
Lauren Klare which extended the lead to 14-5 at the halfway point. Lincoln responded with a 9-2 started by Joy Morton and finished by Skydajah Patterson cutting the deficit to 16-14. Woodford hit from deep and Boyd picked up a layup to close the period with the hosts ahead 21-16.
Janya Lilly scored the first four points of the second to bring the guests within 21-20 at the 2:15 mark. Boyd pushed the lead to 23-20, however, Bryanna Brown, Jeana Weatherspoon, and Kendra Stanford responded with a 7-0 run to give the Lions their first lead of the day at 27-23. The rest of the quarter the scoring would dry up as
Nicolette Arnold provided the only other bucket in the final 5:33 to leave the Lakers behind 27-25 at half.
The two teams exchanged baskets to begin the third, but Mercyhurst would retake the lead, 32-29 thanks to a triple by Woodford and a layup by Centrulla. A Brown jumper and free throw from Janya Lilly knotted things up 32-32, before
Lauren Klare started a 6-2 push with help from teammates
Eliza Oswalt and Centrulla to open up a 38-34 edge. Patterson knocked home the Lions first triple of the contest with 10-seconds left sending the game to the fourth with the Lakers in front by the slimmest of margins 38-37.
Patterson started the fourth by converting an "old-fashioned" three-point play to nudge the guests back on top barely 40-38. It then became the Boyd show as she scored eight points during an 11-0 Lakers run to grab a sizable 49-40 with 5:37 left. Woodford kept the nine-point margin for the home team thanks to sticking a pair on the foul, but then Lincoln worked themselves back into the game thanks to Kania Pollock and Briiyanah Richardson to get within 54-49 at the 7:07 mark. Buchman followed with five straight points for the home side to extend the margin to double-figures 59-49 with 92-seconds remaining. Once again though the Lions would not go away quietly as Richardson and Brown bookended a 10-3 charge making it 62-59 with 10-seconds left. Buchman and Pollock exchanged baskets to cap the scoring for the 64-61 final.
Team Stat Pack
Field Goal % - Hurst, 37.3% (22-59) / LU, 30.3% (23-76)
Three-Point % - Hurst, 33.3% (9-27) / LU, 15.8% (3-19)
Free Throw % - Hurst , 73.3% (11-15) / LU, 75% (12-16)
Rebounds - Hurst, 46 / LU, 49
Points in Paint - Hurst, 16 / LU, 32
Mercyhurst Individual Stats
Points - Boyd (16), Buchman (12), Woodford (12), Klare (7), Shopene (6)
Rebounds - Centrulla (11), Arnold (8),
Meghan Komendarek (8), Klare (6)
Assists - Shopene (7), Centrulla (2), Arnold (2)
Blocks - Centrulla (2), Seven players tied (1)
Lincoln Individual Stats
Points - Patterson (10), Brown (8), Pollock (8)
Rebounds - Gordy (10), Patterson (8)
On Deck
The Lakers and Lions will square off again tomorrow at 3pm inside the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
