Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College women's basketball team dropped a 71-47 decision to No. 1 Gannon in front of 1,218 fans at the Hammermill Center Wednesday, Feb. 24. The Golden Knights utilized a 19-0 run spanning the end of the first half and start of the second to gain separation in the victory.

Mercyhurst is now 12-13 on the season, 4-9 in PSAC West competition after its eighth straight defeat. The Golden Knights advance to 29-0, 13-0 in divisional games.

The Lakers shot 44 percent from the field and made four three-pointers during the second
half, but were held to 36.7 percent shooting overall. For the game, Mercyhurst went 6-for-21 from beyond the arc, while Gannon shot 9-of-20 from deep, receiving threes from six different players. Gannon hit 46.4 percent from the field on the evening. The Lakers won the battle of the boards, 33-31, while Gannon turned 26 Mercyhurst turnovers into 31 points.

Amy Achesinski and Samantha Loadman shared the team lead with 11 points, while Achesinski grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. In the process, Achesinski became the eighth Laker with 600 or more career rebounds. Loadman led the Lakers with four assists, made three triples, and is now third all-time with 168 three-pointers.

Jackie Artise and Kelsey Gordon tallied eight points apiece. Megan Hoffman made a three, and Nikki Frederickson, Kaylee Foster and Lindsay Whipkey evenly split six points.

Gannon's Tiffany Crocker made all of her shot attempts on the evening, pacing all scorers with 19 points. Kristina Freeman led three additional Golden Knights in double-figures with 14 points.

The Lakers opened the scoring with a three from Hoffman, and led 9-7 with 12:25 left in the first half when Achesinski made her second layup of the early going. The Golden Knights then went on a 12-3 run to take a 19-12 advantage with 5:40 to go. Mercyhurst sliced the deficit to three points at 19-16 with 4:54, using layups from Frederickson and Gordon. Gannon scored the final 11 points of the half for a 30-16 halftime lead.

During the second half, the Golden Knights picked up where they left off at the end of the first, tallying the first eight points of the second stanza to take a 38-16 edge at 15:27. Loadman hit a three-pointer to cut into the Gannon lead, but the Golden Knights built their advantage to as many as 25 points at 46-21 with 12:21 remaining. The Lakers applied pressure late, getting as close as 17 points at 54-37 with 5:40 left in the game. Gannon hit four more threes on the way to a 71-47 win.

Wednesday's game was the first contest in which the Lakers faced the No. 1 team in the nation since Nov. 24, 2008, when Mercyhurst fell to No. 1 Northern Kentucky.

The Lakers conclude their 2009-10 season Saturday, Feb. 27, playing host to California (Pa.) at 1 p.m. The Vulcans are 20-6, 10-3 in PSAC West play after a 77-63 win at Slippery Rock Wednesday.