Erie, Pa. - 2024 continues to roll on as we reach the midway point of the month of February. Plenty of Mercyhurst teams were in action with winter sports starting to see their seasons wind down while a few spring sports saw their first taste of this past weekend, giving us an array of strong individual performances. None stood out more than women's ice hockey's Vanessa Upson's men's basketball Jeff Planutis', earning them the title of PPG Athletes of the Week.
Upson played her part in the team's pair of wins this past weekend, scoring two goals. The Lakers played host to Lindenwood for a two game set in which Mercyhurst grabbed a 3-0 win on day one before sending off the senior class in style with a 6-2 win on Saturday to help break out the brooms. Upson got the scoring started on the weekend, putting one in the back of the net near the midway point of the first period on Friday before adding on in game two with her second goal of the weekend. She once again fired the opening salvo of the game, scoring just a few minutes into the contest and helping open the flood gates for one of the team's better offensive performances of the year.
On the season, Upson has scored 13 goals while adding 15 assists to her line for a total of 28 points, the second-most among the Lakers with only Sara Boucher's 37 being more. The baker's dozen scores for Upson is third behind Boucher (16) and Thea Johansson (14) while her 15 helpers comes in fourth. The native of Stoney Creek, Ont. has one goal in each of her last three games, showing consistency on offense at a time in which the team needs it most.
Mercyhurst has just two more games on the docket, wrapping up their regular season this upcoming weekend when they go on the road to see Syracuse. The Lakers and Orange are set to battle starting on Friday, February 16th, at 6:00 p.m. followed by a 3:00 p.m. puck drop the following day.
Planutis and the Lakers played just one game on the week and made it count, going into double overtime with IUP on Wednesday, February 7th, inside the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. The graduate guard played a large part in helping the team to the win as he finished with 35 points to his line while adding 15 rebounds. Planutis ended up hitting 13 shots in the game with two of those coming from long range to go along with a 7-7 effort from the charity stripe. His 35 points is the second-most of his career, coming in behind only his 39 back in early December against Kutztown while his 15 boards are the most in single game by the native of Hazleton, Pa.
Planutis has been an offensive force so far this year, averaging 18.4 points per game for the most on the team while coming in sixth in the PSAC. So far, he has shot 45.4% from the field, 39.4% from three, and 87.9% from the free throw line, showing himself to be a dangerous scorer in terms of both volume and efficiency. The graduate has been on a tear of late on offense for Mercyhurst, averaging 18.8 points over his last eight games with a 49.2/35.8/100 shooting split over that span as he has gotten hot at the right time.
Planutis and the Lakers get back on the hardwood this week with a pair of games on the docket. First, the team makes the trip to Edinboro to see the Fighting Scots on Wednesday, February 14th, in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off followed by a 3:00 p.m. contests with Seton Hill on Saturday to round out the week.
