Seton Hill, Pa – Mercyhurst Women's Basketball falls to Seton Hill in a nail-biter on the road Wednesday night. Despite great efforts, the Griffins defeat the Lakers by one point, after a game-winning bucket, 72-71, to move the Lakers to 14-13 on the year and 10-11 in the conference.
First Half
The Lakers started the game slow, as their opponents jumped out to an early nine-point lead in the first, 17-8. Jenna Van Schaik brought her squad back within seven with a nice pump fake that led to a jumper, 17-10.
Mercyhurst finished the first strong, as Paige Woodford knocked down a three-pointer to finish the quarter, 26-17. The second quarter was very similar as the Griffins kept applying pressure early, and pushed the lead to as many as 15 points, 34-19.
The steal from Bailey Kuhns led to another deep shot from Woodford to cut down the deficit, 34-22.
Grace Centrulla finished the half well, as she scored on a jumper to bring her squad within seven points, 41-34.
Second Half
The Lakers struck again in the second as Grim went inside in transition to tie the game at 41-41. A couple of minutes later, Lexi Wagner went inside and passed the ball to Kuhns for a layup as they tied the score at 47-47.
Mercyhurst went on the run after that bucket, as both Julia Buchman and Wagner knocked it down from deep, 53-47. The Griffins answered back in the fourth, as they took the lead with five minutes left in the game, 59-56.
The Lakers tied the game three minutes later, as Wagner knocked down a three-pointer with a foul and converted from the free-throw line, 67-67. Grim gave her squad a lead with 33 seconds left in the game as she crossed her defender and pulled up for her patented mid-range jumper, 71-70.
Despite that, the Griffins won the game after Alie Seto received the ball inside and scored a layup to extend her team's playoff hopes.
Highlights
Danielle Grim led the charge with 17 points and seven rebounds, and she was helped by Lexi Wagner with 13. Bailey Kuhns added eight rebounds, and four of them were offensive.
What's Next
With the loss against Seton Hill, the Lakers are now 10-11 in the conference with still a chance to make it into the PSAC tournament, needing some help from others to do so. They are still scheduled to take on their cross-town rival, Gannon on Saturday, February 25th with the game is set to start at 1:00 PM.
