Erie, Pa.—The last time the Edinboro and Mercyhurst Women's Basketball programs shared a court, they needed two overtimes to decide a winner on Jan. 19 in Edinboro.
But on Saturday night in Erie, the Lakers were able to fend off the Fighting Scots for a 76-66 win in regulation to improve to 8-17 (6-14 PSAC) on the season.
How it Happened
The Fighting Scots stormed out of the gate to take an early lead, and were ahead 21-15 after the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Lakers finally found their footing in the second quarter, tying the game at 26 at 5:23 on a Julia Buchman layup and taking the lead on a three-pointer from Grace Clary at 3:22.
After Rana Elhusseini made a pair of free-throws to cut the Mercyhurst lead to just one point,
Jayde Boyd nailed a three to give the Lakers a 32-28 lead heading into the locker room.
Grace Centrulla, Boyd and Emily Shopene combined to score all 20 Mercyhurst points in the third quarter as Edinboro was able to put 19 on the board.
The Fighting Scots wrestled away the lead early in the fourth quarter, but a seven-point Lakers run put them back on top, 61-58, at 3:30. The Lakers held Edinboro off in the final minutes, and made seven of their 10 free-throws as Edinboro turned to the foul game in the final minute.
By the Numbers
Boyd finished with a career-high 30 points to pace all scorers, and made it a complete day as she finished off the double-double with 10 rebounds.
Centrulla finished with 12 points and nearly made it a double-double with nine rebounds.
Up Next
The Lakers have a full slate of games in the final week of the regular season, starting with a trip to Pitt-Johnstown on Monday.
