ERIE, Pa. - After dropping their first game of the 2020-21 season on Saturday afternoon at Daemen College the Mercyhurst women's basketball team will seek to right the ship on Tuesday night when they head to Rochester, New York to take on the Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan College.  

Game Information
Opponent - Roberts Wesleyan College Redhawks
Date - Tuesday, January 19    
Time - 7pm 
Location - Rochester, N.Y. (Voller Athletic Center)
Series History - Lakers lead, 2-0 / Lakers Last Win: 101-55, (11/23/99 at home) / RWC Last Win: 
Live Stats 
Watch
Lakers Notes (PDF)

Last Time Out - Daemen 82, LAKERS 64 (1/16/21)
Mercyhurst got off to a rough start trailing 19-9 after one aided by a 10-0 Daemen run.  Nicolette Arnold, Jayde Boyd and Meghan Komendarek helped the visitors chip away at the deficit closing to within 24-16, however a late 12-3 Wildcats pushed stretched the edge to 44-25 at half.  Grace Centrulla, Paige Woodford and Boyd tried to provide an offensive spark for Mercyhurst in the third, but it did not help to much as they went to the fourth down 67-38.  The final frame saw Lakers scores from Lauren Klare, Brittini Martin, Emma McDermott, Emily Shopene, Buchman and Woodford.  However, the home side kept the Green and Blue at bay allowing them to see out the victory.  

Scouting the Lakers (5-1)
Strong Start to the Regular Season
The Lakers 5-0 start was their best to a season since 2016-17 when they also started 5-0.  With the loss they fell short of their pursuit for the best start in program history which is 10-0 back in 1988-89. 

Balanced Scoring
The trio of Boyd, Buchman and Komendarek continue to pace the Mercyhurst offense.  Boyd leads the way with 15.2, with Komendarek (12.0) and Buchman (11.0) trying to track her down.  Woodford is adding 7.5 to the cause and Centrulla is chipping in 6.5.  Arnold and Shopene are each contributing five points per game.  

Hitting the Glass
Mercyhurst grabbed 30 rebounds in Saturday's loss to Daemen and is now averaging 45.2 rebounds per game.  As a team they hold a +2.4 rebound margin as they allow just 42.8 to their opposition.  Komendarek leads the team with 9.3, while Boyd and Centrulla each average over six per contest.  The duo of Arnold and Shopene combine to grab ten a game.  

Consistency in Starters
Other than the one game that Shopene missed because of a lower-body injury, head coach Brooklyn Kohlheim has gone with the same starting lineup every game.  That group of five has consisted of Boyd, Buchman and Shopene in the backcourt with Arnold along with Komendarek up front. 

Protect the Ball
One thing that Mercyhurst still has to work on is not turning the ball over.  As a team they are currently averaging 17.5 turnovers per game.  The Lakers have turned the ball over 15 or more times in each game, which includes 15 in the game at Daemen.     

Block Party
The Lakers added two blocks to their total on Saturday which now gives them 41 on season.  They are led by a dozen from Komendarek, while Boyd and Centrulla have each recorded nine.  The combination of Arnold and Shopene have accounted for six.   

Stat Pack
Mercyhurst through six games is averaging 69.8 points, while giving up 58.7.  They are shooting 40.4% from the floor, 31.6% outside the arc and 70.9% on the charity line.  They are grabbing 45.2 boards per contest to go along with 17.8 assists.  On the defensive end, the Lakers have 34 steals and average 6.8 blocks.

NCAA Leaders
As a team the Lakers are fourth in the nation in blocks per game (6.8), 18th in rebounds per game (48.2).  At the defensive end they are sixth in field-goal percentage defense (29.8) and sixth in defensive rebounds per game (35.6).  Mercyhurst also sits in the Top-10 in total blocks (3rd).  Individually, Shopene is third in assists per game (7.5).  With her 2.4 blocks per game Komendarek is 15th nationally, while Boyd sits 30th in blocks per game (1.8). 

In the Nest
Roberts Wesleyan will be playing just their second game of the campaign after knocking off Bryant and Stratton College on January 12th by a score of 75-62 at home.  In that game the Redhawks much like the Lakers took advantage of balanced scoring as four players hit double-figures led by a double-double for Dimitra Gkizani who had 15 points and 12 rebounds.  Paige McCormick and Toni Neely-Primus each added 14, while Taryn Wilson netted 13.  On the glass, it was Gkizani leading the way, with McCormick and Wilson grabbing seven apiece.  As a team they shot 47.4% (27-57) from the floor to go along with 10-24 beyond the arc and 11-16 at the charity line.  RWC had 26 points in the paint and turned 28 opponent turnovers into just 13 points.  Head Coach Kevin Clifford is in his third season as "head of the nest", holding a 31-30 record.

On Deck
Mercyhurst returns home for the first time since January 9th, when they welcome Kentucky State University for a 1pm tip on Friday afternoon at the Athletic Center. 

For all the latest schedule updates and news about the Mercyhurst Lakers you can follow us on all social media outlets Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or visit hurstathletics.com.  The women's basketball team is also found on Twitter.