Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Women's Basketball travels to Tiffin, Oh. to take on the Dragons of Tiffin University on Wednesday, November 16th, at 6:00 p.m. before coming home for their home opener against Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
1. Hunting for the First
The Lakers have fallen to the first two teams of the season. They have played the University of Charleston and West Liberty University, falling to both in close contests. During their last game against West Liberty, the Lakers only lost by one point in a 108-107 double-overtime thriller. Even though the first half was mostly under West Liberty's control, the Lakers came out in the second half with a determination to get the game under control. They were able to tie the game to bring it into double overtime; however, with 26 seconds left, West Liberty had a free throw that gave them the winning edge.
2. Laker Stats
In the past three games, Jayde Boyd has put up 33 points in 68 minutes while knocking down a team-high five threes in the first two games (10). Danielle Grim has put up 35 points in 73 minutes with a 26-point effort in the team's nail-biting loss to West Liberty. Bailey Kuhns has put up 19 points in 35 minutes and has shot 61.5% from the field for the second-highest percentage in the early going while leading the team in rebounds with 5.5 a game.
3. Previous Matchups
Mercyhurst and Tiffin have played each other four times since 2007. The Laker's last matchup against the Dragons ended in a Laker win in 2014 by a finale of 91-79. That was the only time the Lakers have beat the Dragons. Mercyhurst's history with Roberts Wesleyan is short-lived as they've only played once with the Lakers coming out on top 55-42 during the 2020-21 season that saw Nicolette Arnold and Grace Centrulla scored double-digits.
4. Returning Lakers
The Lakers return Grace Centrulla and Jayde Boyd, the two top scorers from the year before. These two were also named to all-PSAC teams at the end of last year. Nicolette Arnold also returns this year for the Lakers who shot 43.8% from three and Julia Buchman who made a team-high of 42 threes.
5. Scouting Report
In Tiffin's last game against Illinois-Springfield, Savanah Richards was the leading point scorer with 15 points. Jada Tate was the lead rebounder with 14 points. Jada Tate was also the lead point score in Tiffin's game against McKendree. The Dragons have found their rhythm in the second half during their first two games. In their previous games, they have turned the ball over more often than their opponents. Roberts Wesleyan sits 0-2 on the year to this point with a matchup with Mansfield on Wednesday. In the early going, Emily Miller has been the go-to scorer for the Falcons as she has averaged a team-high 14.1 points per game while grabbing 9.7 rebounds and averaging over one assist, steal, and block to this point.
