Erie, PA- The highly anticipated home matchup with Gannon took place tonight, as the Mercyhurst Women's Basketball team tried to rectify a 69-44 loss suffered earlier in the season. Despite the effort, the Lakers fell short of the nationally ranked Golden Knights, 60-50. The Lakers are now 16-9 on the season and 12-7 in conference as they head into the last three games of the regular season.  

How it Happened: 

Defensive intensity, paired with a couple of missed opportunities from both teams kept the game scoreless three minutes into the first quarter. Gannon then hit a three from the wing to take a 3-0 lead. Jenna Van Schaik tied things up with a three of her own midway through the quarter. Bailey Kuhns then went to work offensively, taking her defender off the dribble to earn a quick two. Allyson Ross and Danielle Grim started attacking the rim offensively and converted to give the Lakers a 9-8 lead. As the horn blew to end the first quarter, the game was tied 10-10. 

Gannon found the scoreboard early in the second quarter to take a one possession lead. They made it a two-possession lead with another layup two minutes in. Danielle Grim found her stroke with an elbow jumper to pull back within one possession, but Gannon answered back to make it 21-12 with 7 straight points. A little life from Mercyhurst to end the half was quickly mitigated by the Golden Knights as Gannon went into halftime with a 28-17 lead.  

Bailey Kuhns led the Lakers in the first half with 8 points and 4 rebounds. The Lakers shot just 21% from the field in the first half, while Gannon shot it at a 52% clip. 

Danielle Grim and Bailey Kuhns got on the board for the Lakers to start the second half, as the Gannon lead dwindled to just 8. The Golden Knights built it back to double digits before Jenna Van Schaik got to the rim in back-to-back possessions to make the score 34-24 heading into the first media timeout. Gannon extended the lead to 13 before Julia Buchman cashed in a three-pointer from the top of the key to put it back to 10. The Lakers couldnt seem to keep the deficit to single digits as the score remained 44-29 heading into the final frame.  

Danielle Grim came out hot to start the fourth quarter, scoring 5 straight points to make it a manageable deficit. The Golden Knights continued to go stride for stride with the Lakers throughout the fourth quarter and the Lakers eventually cut it to 5 points with under a minute left. Strong free throw shooting from the Golden Knights solidified a win with a final score of 60-50.  

Highlights: 

Danielle Grim led all Laker scorers with 16 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Bailey Kuhns chipped in 11 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.  

Up Next: 

The Lakers will head to California, PA and Clarion, PA for two away games before heading back to Erie for senior night on Saturday, March 2nd.