Lakers Face County Rival Edinboro And GLIAC Foe Lake Superior State This Week - MERCYHURST COLLEGE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Dec. 4, 2007

THE MATCHUPS: Mercyhurst will play two games this week, meeting county rival Edinboro and GLIAC opponent Lake Superior State. The Lakers will host the Edinboro Fighting Scots on Wednesday at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Mercyhurst will travel to face the Lake Superior State Lakers at 1 p.m.
LAST MEETINGS: The Edinboro Fighting Scots did not play Mercyhurst last season but the teams are familiar foes. The Fighting Scots hold a 24-7 overall record against the Lakers with their last meeting coming in the 2005-06 season. The Lakers earned a 63-52 victory over Edinboro as Julie Anderson led all scorers with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Last year, Mercyhurst struggled to shoot the ball in a 79-46 loss to Lake Superior State that dropped the team's all-time record to 2-11 against Lake Superior. The Lakers shot 33 percent from the field and 12 percent from the arc. Anderson again led Mercyhurst with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
THE COACHES: Mercyhurst head coach Deanna Richard is in her first season at Mercyhurst, currently posting a 1-6 record. She has a career mark of 62-98, including a record of 61-92 in six seasons at Division III Olivet College. Now in his 21st season, Stan Swank is the winningest coach in Fighting Scot women's basketball history. He has had 15 winning seasons during his 20-year tenure while compiling a 342-219 overall mark. He is currently tied for 26th among active Division II coaches in wins. After spending seven seasons as an assistant at Lake Superior, Jamie Pewinski took over as the head coach of the LSSU women's basketball team in the spring of 2006 making this her first season at the helm.
THE PRESEASON POLLS: Mercyhurst was picked to finish last in the six-team GLIAC South Division in 2007-08. The Edinboro University women's basketball team has been picked to finish third in the 2007-08 season in the PSAC West. Lake Superior State was picked to finish fourth in the GLIAC South Division. Mercyhurst and Lake Superior State are both 0-2 in the GLIAC, and Edinboro has yet to compete in conference play.
SCOUTING MERCYHURST: The Lakers are currently on a six-game slide after winning their season opener against Mansfield. Mercyhurst is led offensively by freshman Amy Achesinski, who is averaging 19 points per game, and junior Stephanie Prischak, who is averaging 14.1. In a rare head-scratcher, Mercyhurst leads the GLIAC in field goal percentage and three-point percentage but ranks last in the conference in scoring.
SCOUTING EDINBORO: Edinboro is 3-1 overall this year. The Fighting Scots are led offensively by Samantha Reimer, averaging 18.0 points per game, and Kelsey Conklin averaging 16.8. Edinboro is currently ranked first in the PSAC in scoring offense and scoring defense. The Fighting Scots are shooting .424 from the field and .306 from the arc.
SCOUTING LAKE SUPERIOR STATE: The Lake Superior State Lakers share the same 0-2 GLIAC record with Mercyhurst this season and are 2-4 overall. Lake Superior is currently ranked second in the GLIAC, behind Mercyhurst, in three point percentage at .398. The team is also fifth in the conference in field goal percentage at .456. Lake Superior is led offensively by Shalyn Beaucamp at 11.7 points per game and Katherine LaPrairie at 10.3.

QUICK HITS
• Mercyhurst is playing its final season as a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) before moving to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) next year. Mercyhurst is 1-1 against PSAC schools this year, picking up a win over Mansfield before a loss to Slippery Rock.
• Freshman Amy Achesinski was named the GLIAC South Division Player of the Week Nov. 27 after averaging 22.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in two games last week.
• Achesinski is on pace to place her name in the Mercyhurst record book in both free-throws made and attempted. At her current rate, she would make 158 and attempt 204. The records are 153 made and 204 attempted.
• No Mercyhurst player has scored 30 or more points in a game since 2001 but Achesinski came close to breaking that streak with a career-high 29 against Northern Michigan.
• As a team, the Lakers are on pace to break the single season school records for field goal percentage and three-point percentage. Mercyhurst is shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from three-point range this year.
• Although Mercyhurst has lost six consecutive games, the Lakers have had opportunities to win most of them. Mercyhurst has held second-half leads in three of the six contests.