Erie, Pa – Mercyhurst Women's Basketball opened up their season the same way they did last year: with a loss to Charleston. The Lakers held the lead through the majority of the game, but the Golden Eagles rallied down the stretch to take home the win by a final score of 78-74.
How It Happened
The Lakers started the game strong, as Lexi Wagner got hot early and knocked down two threes in the first quarter. Danielle Grim and Jayde Boyd also joined her, as they knocked down three-point shots of their own.
Mercyhurst won the first quarter by a score of 20-18 and continued their run in the second one, as Wagner and Grim stayed hot and kept scoring. After a good layup by Ava Waid, the Lakers jumped out to a ten-point lead as they found themselves ahead 35-25, but the Eagles came back and Mercyhurst went into the break winning by a score of 38-33.
The second half started well for the Lakers as Grim made another three-pointer and Grace Centrulla followed it with a bucket of her own. Mercyhurst held a slight lead for most of the quarter, but Charleston caught fire and took the lead with 27 seconds on the clock with a jumper by Abby Lee to go into the final frame in front 53-52.
The Lakers started the fourth quarter slow, as the Eagles extended their lead to nine points. Thanks to a heroic effort by Boyd, Mercyhurst tied the game with six minutes left on the clock, as she scored 11 points in a row for the Lakers. Charleston jumped out to a slight lead again, but after two made free throws by Centrulla, the game was tied at 72-72. Despite great efforts by the Lakers, the Eagles took over the last minute of the half of the game, eventually winning by a score of 78-74.
By The Numbers
Boyd led the charge with 22 points and five made threes while she was helped by Julia Buchman with 14 and Wagner, scorer of 11. Bailey Kuhns had six rebounds while Grim led the team in assists with four. The Lakers shot 43% from the field and allowed their opponents yo have 36 points in the paint.
What's Next
The Lakers are set to take on West Liberty on Saturday, November 12th, in another game in the PSAC vs MAC Challenge with the two teams set to begin play at 12:00 p.m.
