ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College women’s basketball team closed out its 2009-10 season with an 88-57 setback at the hands of visiting California (Pa.) Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. California scored 44 points in each half, shooting .617 from the field.
Samantha Loadman led the Lakers with 16 points.
The Lakers end their season with a 12-14 record, dropping the final nine games of the campaign for a 4-10 divisional mark. Cal improves to 21-6, 11-3 in the PSAC West, and the Vulcans will host IUP Tuesday, March 2 in the first round of the PSAC tournament.
Mercyhurst shot 12-for-28 during each half, finishing the game 24-of-56 for a 42.9 percent field goal performance. The Lakers went .292 from three-point range, making seven triples. Cal shot .617 from the field, hit .545 of its threes, and went just 8-for-17 from the foul line. Mercyhurst outrebounded the Vulcans, 33-28, including 14-9 on the offensive glass. Cal turned 32 Laker turnovers into 37 points, and edged the Lakers in assists, 25-20.
Loadman sank four out of eight three-point attempts, pacing the Lakers with 16 points. She finished the season with 70 three-pointers, the third-most in a single season in program history.
Amy Achesinski tallied 12 markers and collected eight caroms. She set a personal best for rebounds in a season.
Cal’s Brooque Williams scored 30 points on the afternoon, the most points by an opposing player this season. Kayla Smith posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.
Cal stormed out of the gate, taking a 16-5 lead after six and a half minutes of game action.
Kaylee Foster,
Megan Hoffman and
Lindsay Whipkey made one layup each during a 6-2 Laker run, pulling the home team to within seven points at 18-11 with 11:41 remaining in the first half. The Vulcans then extended their lead to 14 points at 34-20 with 5:27 to go before Mercyhurst made a brief rally.
Mercyhurst went on an 11-6 run over the next three minutes, with Loadman scoring eight points and
Jackie Artise hitting a three-pointer during the surge. As a result, the Lakers trailed by nine at 40-31 with 2:24 remaining. Cal scored the final four points of the half for a 44-31 halftime lead.
The Lakers held close for the first three minutes of the second half, and trailed by 13 points at 51-38 after an Achesinski layup. The Vulcans outscored the Lakers 37-19 over the final 17 minutes of play for an 88-57 victory.
Artise drilled two three-pointers, registering eight points in her final game at Mercyhurst. Hoffman recorded seven points, while
Nikki Frederickson added six.
Katie Carbee,
Kaylee Foster,
Kelsey Trosch and
Lindsay Whipkey scored two points apiece. Whipkey and
Dana Banda tied for the team lead with five assists, as Whipkey set a new single-game high in helpers.
The Lakers made two out of three free throw attempts Saturday, and have set a new single-season program record for free-throw percentage, at .754. Additionally, with Mercyhurst’s seven made three-pointers, they hit 175 for the season, the third-highest total in program history.
Mercyhurst has posted double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since posting 10 straight seasons with 10+ wins form 1988-89 through the 1997-98 season.