Erie, Pa.—Back on Owen McCormick Court for the first time in 2022, the Mercyhurst Women's Basketball team returned to the win column after defeating Clarion 59-52.
How it Happened
Meghan Komendarek got Mercyhurst on the scoreboard first, but Clarion answered with a three-pointer within the first minute to take a 3-2 lead. Unfortunately for Clarion, that would be their only time with a lead in the game after Grace Centrulla sank a layup at 8:29 to regain the lead.
The Lakers finished the first 10 minutes on top 18-10, and followed that up with a 13-11 second quarter to take a 10-point lead into halftime. Mercyhurst stayed in the driver's seat in the third quarter, out-scoring Clarion 17-13 and holding as much as a 17-point lead in the final minutes.
After neither team was able to score for the first two minutes of the final frame, Clarion struck first and put four points up before Mercyhurst could score with five minutes left. The Golden Eagles began to chip away at the lead, narrowing it to as little as four points at 3:13, before the Lakers found their footing again.
Clarion turned to the foul game in the final minute, and Mercyhurst made seven of their eight free-throws to help stave off the Golden Eagles.
By the Numbers
The Lakers saw above-average productivity from their bench in Monday's win, receiving 15 points from them. Of the 15, eight came from redshirt freshman Brittini Martin, who scored her season-high in points while spending a season-high amount of time (13 minutes) on the court.
Jayde Boyd led the Lakers with 15 points and Centrulla followed with 10 points. Both of them had seven rebounds, while Emily Shopene led the team in that category with eight.
Up Next
The Lakers picked up a game for Wednesday after their home matchup with IUP was postponed. The Lakers will travel to Slippery Rock Wednesday before visiting Kutztown Saturday at 1 p.m.
