Erie, Pa.—In a game that came down to free throws in the final minutes, the Mercyhurst Women's Basketball team dropped their first contest of the new year at crosstown rival Gannon, 60-56.
How it Happened
The two teams were evenly matched for most of the contest, with the teams trading blows in the first quarter and Mercyhurst leading 11-10 after the first 10 minutes.
The two teams again split things down the middle in the second quarter, with Mercyhurst holding the advantage for almost the whole quarter and holding a seven-point lead at one point before heading to the locker room up 25-24.
It was in the third quarter that Gannon finally found an edge, with the teams exchanging leads again, but Gannon winding up with the one-point lead heading into the final quarter. Neither team was able to gain a lead larger than three points in those 10 minutes.
Recognizing the urgency, the Lakers looked in control to start the fourth quarter, growing a lead to four points before it waned again. A jumper from Jayde Boyd with 1:03 left gave the Lakers a three-point lead, and they hoped to hold onto the lead by forcing the Golden Knights to the free-throw line.
But a combination of Gannon making seven of their eight free-throws in the final 60 seconds – and no made shots from Mercyhurst – gave the Golden Knights back the lead and some insurance points to take the victory.
Gannon, now 10-1 overall and 5-1 in PSAC play, had three players score in the double digits, including Tori Obenrader (18 points), Emma Wright (11) and Delaney Dogan (11 points and 10 rebounds).
Mercyhurst fell to 5-7 overall and 3-3 in PSAC play. Boyd wound up as the only Laker with 10 or more points as she finished with 15. Two players (Grace Centrulla and Julia Buchman) finished with nine.
Coach's Corner
Up Next
The Lakers will regroup as they take a slightly longer trip to Greensburg to visit Seton Hill Saturday at 1 p.m.
