Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – Jordan Hertz and Tiffany Lapotsky combined to score 36 points as the East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team handed the Mercyhurst Lakers a 65-64 loss on Saturday inside Koehler Fieldhouse.
 
ESU (3-3, 1-0 PSAC) trailed 32-29 at the half but outscored the Lakers by four points in the second stanza to record its first win in PSAC action. Mercyhurst (1-5, 0-1) entered the contest averaging 70 points per contest but would be limited to just 42.6 percent shooting from the field.
 
Hertz, a junior, paced the Warriors with a career-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with a pair of 3-pointers. Hertz also added a game-high four assists to go along with five rebounds. Lapotsky finished 8-of-17 from the field and 2-of-4 at the charity stripe for a total of 18 points. The junior also added a team-high seven rebounds to go with three steals. Sophomore Marlene Bassett tallied 12 points for ESU to go along with six rebounds and one block.
 
Nicolete Newman guided the Lakers with 18 points in the contest and went 4-of-8 from downtown. Lauren Lapertosa added 10 points and seven boards for Mercyhurst, while Emily Shopene tallied nine points. Kori Sidwell narrowly missed a double-double for the Lakers with nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
The Warriors held a 15-13 advantage after the opening 10 minutes of action but would see the Lakers respond with a huge second quarter as Mercyhurst tallied 19 points to head into the break with a 32-29 lead. Lapotsky and Newman would be the go-to players for their respective sides in the half as Lapotsky tallied eight points (4-of-9), while Newman crossed into double-digits on 5-of-8 shooting for a 12-point performance.
 
Mercyhurst worked to trim the deficit in the third quarter with time winding-down as Jenna Kunst hit one of her two shots at the free-throw line to knot the score 47-47 with 46 seconds remaining. The Warriors looked to head into the fourth quarter with a lead as Lapotsky sank a pair of free throws to make it 49-47. The Lakers had other plans as Newman drained a trey with time expiring to give her team a 50-49 edge.
 
The Warriors and Lakers would trade the lead in the fourth as Newman sank a 3-pointer to give Mercyhurst a 64-62 lead with 2:59 remaining. The lead would be short lived as Hertz drained a trey of her own with 2:43 remaining to give ESU the lead for good. Neither side would score over the final 2:42 of play.
 
The Warriors host Slippery Rock for a PSAC contest on Monday at 3 p.m. inside Koehler Fieldhouse.