Box Score
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Mercyhurst battled back from a 10-point second half deficit to tie the score late in the contest, but Lock Haven pulled out a 58-57 victory in PSAC West women’s basketball action Saturday, Feb. 20 at Thomas Fieldhouse.
Samantha Loadman scored 23 points and
Jackie Artise added 16 for the Lakers.
The Lakers fell for the seventh straight game, and now hold a 12-12 overall record, 4-8 in the PSAC West. Lock Haven claimed its second PSAC West win in a row, improving to 7-16 overall, 2-10 in divisional play.
For the game, the Lakers shot 42.6 percent from the field and 40.6 percent (9-for-22) on three-pointers. Mercyhurst shot 50 percent in the second half, making six threes. Lock Haven connected on 39 percent of its field goal attempts, but made seven three-pointers. The Lakers outrebounded Lock Haven, 37-29, as each team grabbed 10 offensive boards. Lock Haven turned 24 Laker turnovers into 29 points, and received 29 points from non-starters.
Loadman led with 23 points, hitting 8-of-12 shots, including 5-of-9 from downtown. She scored 15 points during the second half. Artise entered double-digits for the second game in a row, with 13 of her 16 points coming in the final 20 minutes. She went 5-for-8 overall, and 4-of-7 from three-point range.
Amy Achesinski scored six points and grabbed nine rebounds, passing Cassie Seth for 10th place all-time with 1,143 career points. Banda added six markers and a career-high five rebounds. Lindsay Whipkey, Nikki Frederickson and Katie Carbee each scored two points, and Megan Hoffman grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists.
Casi Donelan led four Lock Haven players in double-figures with 14 points.
Trailing by five points with two and a half minutes remaining, the Lakers sliced the deficit to one point at 56-55, receiving two made foul shots from Artise and a layup by Banda. After a series of turnovers in the final minute, Mercyhurst fouled Lock Haven’s Peaches Nesmith with nine seconds remaining. Nesmith hit both tosses, leaving the Lakers with a three-point deficit, 58-55. Banda drove the length of the court, making a layup with 0.3 left on the clock to pull to within one point at 58-57. Nesmith missed an ensuing foul shot, and time expired on a 58-57 Lock Haven win.
Lock Haven led by five points, 26-21, at halftime, and extended its advantage to double-digits at 31-21 with two early makes. The Lakers chipped away at the lead, but the Lady Eagles pushed the margin back to 10 at 40-30 with 13:55 to play. Mercyhurst them staged an 8-0 run, with two three-pointers from Artise highlighting the rally, and the visitors trailed 40-38 with 10:59 showing on the clock. Two threes from Loadman tied the score at 44 during a back-and-forth stretch.
Over the next four minutes, Lock Haven went on a 7-2 run to take a 51-46 lead on a Jaime Donovan triple at 5:20. Artise answered with a three, and Achesinski cashed in on two shots from the charity stripe to tie the score at 51 apiece with 4:14 remaining. The Lady Eagles built another five-point advantage with a two and a three, and led 56-51 at 2:46.
Lock Haven controlled the first half of play, as each team battled through turnovers and tough shot selection. The Lady Eagles led by nine points at 12-3 before the Laker offense sparked a 10-4 run to trail 16-13 at 7:30. Lock Haven, clinging to a one-point lead late in the half, ended on a 4-0 surge to take a 26-21 lead into the locker room.
Mercyhurst next plays at cross town rival and No. 2 Gannon Wednesday, Feb. 24, with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m. The Golden Knights defeated the Lakers, 66-52 in the teams’ first meeting this season.