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Slow But Sure Eagles
Women Stop the ‘Hurst, 66-53 |
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Slow down doesn’t have to mean slow motion. The Mercyhurst College women’s basketball team made the Ashland University Eagles play as if they were in locked in traffic in a 15-mile-per-hour school zone. Yet after 40 minutes, it was the visiting Lakers who were taken to school, 66-53. It’s hard to argue with MC’s strategy. The Lakers only had seven players dressed for the game. The deeper, more talented Eagles would dominate an up-and-down game. For that reason, the ‘Hurst limited the number of possessions AU would get. The problem with that attack is that once a team falls behind, it’s hard to climb back into the contest. Ashland led, 33-25 at halftime and didn’t wilt in the second half. The Eagles, ranked sixth in the Great Lakes Region, are 17-6, 8-5 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action. MC is 1-20 and 1-12. AU dominated the action inside, piling up a 32-16 edge in points in the paint. The Eagles outrebounded the Lakers, 47-33 and limited Mercyhurst to a 27.9 percent effort (19-68) shooting from the field. Mercyhurst never led in the game. Junior center Jackie Mason had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Eagles. Freshman guard Amber Rall and sophomore guard Dee Bethune had 11 points apiece. Julie Anderson had 16 points for Mercyhurst. |