ERIE, Pa. – For the first time in the last eleven meetings, the Edinboro University women's basketball team ended up on the losing end of a contest with local PSAC West rival Mercyhurst. The Fighting Scots dropped a 56-54 nail-biter to the Lakers on Saturday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. With the loss, the Fighting Scots sit at 19-7 overall and 15-5 in the PSAC West with two games remaining in the regular season. Mercyhurst avoided a fifth consecutive season sweep by Edinboro and entered a tie with the Fighting Scots for the third seed in the West with a 20-6 overall mark and a 15-5 conference ledger.
The Fighting Scots got off to a rough start to Saturday's contest, missing four of their first five shots, as well as missing a pair of shots from the charity stripe, leading to Mercyhurst jumping out to an 8-3 lead just under four minutes into the contest. Jessica Bell sparked the run with back-to-back layups.
Katie Fischer was able to keep the Fighting Scots within striking distance, scoring ten points in the first quarter to keep the deficit at 15-13 entering the second quarter.
Jontay Walton knotted the game up at 15-15 just five seconds in the second quarter before a Jalin Steel jumper once again gave the Lakers the lead.
Michelle Jahn gave Edinboro their first lead of the night on a 3-pointer before a 10-2 run by gave the Lakers the lead again at 27-20, eventually leading to a 34-30 halftime lead for Mercyhurst.
Both teams returned to the court ice cold to open the second half as the two teams combined for just 15 points in the third quarter as the Fighting Scots outscored the Lakers, 9-8, in the period. Edinboro shot just 3-of-12 with five turnovers as the Lakers matched the rough patch going 3-of-13 with a trio of turnovers.
Action once again heated up in the final quarter as the Fighting Scots retook the lead at 43-42 under two minutes into the final quarter on back-to-back baskets from
Ciara Rosten. The Lakers immediately responded, regaining the lead and leading by as much as five points at 52-47 with under three minutes to play.
Rosten once again jump started an Edinboro run as the Fighting Scots scored seven unanswered points to take a 54-52 lead with 57 seconds left to play. A pair of Steel free throws knotted the game up with 47 seconds remaining before an Emilee Norris free throw gave the Lakers a one-point lead at 55-54 with 10 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, the Fighting Scots turned it over and were forced to foul with five seconds remaining. Natalie Piaggesi went 1-for-2 from the line giving the Fighting Scots one last heave from half court that couldn't find the bottom of the net.
Fischer led all scorers with 16 points before fouling out late in the contest. Rosten added 13 points and six rebounds while Jahn dropped in 11 points. Walton turned in her typical strong performance off the bench, finishing with 10 points and three steals.
Cheniya Sharpe led the Fighting Scots with eight rebounds.
The Lakers took care of business on the glass, holding a 45-38 advantage in rebounds, led by Angela Heintz with 11. Heintz also added 14 points and six assists. Piaggesi finished with 11 points and nine boards, while Emilee Norris and Maria Lapertosa added nine and eight points off the bench, respectively.
Edinboro finished the contest shooting 31.0 percent (18-of-58) from the floor and was just 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the free throw line. The Fighting Scots also turned the ball over 17 times. The Lakers finished 19-of-54 from the floor and also struggled from the charity stripe, shooting 65.2 percent (15-of-23). Mercyhurst matched Edinboro with 17 turnovers.
The Fighting Scots return to McComb Fieldhouse on Wednesday, hosting Slippery Rock for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
