Erie, Pa.—A back-and-forth fourth quarter ended in Pitt-Johnstown's favor as the Mercyhurst Women's Basketball team suffered a tough 59-58 loss at home Monday night.
How it Happened
The Mountain Cats jumped out to an early 11-2 lead over the first four minutes of the game, prompting an early timeout from Mercyhurst Head Coach Brooklyn Kohlheim. After talking things out, the Lakers showed new energy as they raced back with threes from Julia Buchman and Grace Clary, a Brittini Martin layup and a Jayde Boyd triple to take the lead at 4:05.
The Lakers were in the driver's seat for the rest of the first half, boasting a 13-point lead with 1:41 left before UPJ trimmed it to 34-26 heading into halftime.
Pitt-Johnstown came out of the locker room swinging, putting nine on the board to regain the lead before the Lakers would score. The two teams would exchange leads for the rest of the third quarter and into the fourth, with neither team able to go up by more than four.
Over the final three minutes, the Lakers could only tie – not gain a lead – after the Mountain Cats scored. Clary was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three with three seconds left to bring the score to 59-58, but time was not on their side as they couldn't close the gap.
Career Game
Clary led the Lakers with 20 points, topping her career best by 10 points. The redshirt freshman from Whitehall went 4-6 from beyond the arc and 4-5 from the free-throw line. She also added six rebounds.
The Long Game
The Lakers shot 53.3 percent from three-point range in the loss, finishing with a higher percentage than their overall field-goal percentage (39.6). The three biggest contributors were Clary, Buchman (2-2, 12 points overall) and Boyd (2-5, 10 points overall).
Coach's Corner
Up Next
The Mercyhurst men and women will be at home Wednesday night as they host a doubleheader with Seton Hill. The women's game will tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
