Box Score Seton Hill hosted Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon as they honored their two seniors,
Chelsea Apke and
Meghan Mastroianni before the game for senior day. Seton Hill used the momentum from the senior day festivities to jump out to a 45-33 halftime lead. SHU held off the Lakers for a 79-71 victory to improve to 12-15 overall and 8-13 in PSAC play. The win also helps the Griffins chances at making the PSAC playoffs.
Kelly Brennan picked up right where she left off from her previous games, draining a three to open the scoring. After a
Jharrin Gill layin, Brennan drained another three to give SHU the early 8-4 advantage. Mercyhurst battled back to tie the score at 13 before
Alexandria Deep hit a three and Gill followed with another layin to give the Griffins a 18-13 advantage with 13:37 to play in the half. The game would be tightly played over the next 10 minutes with the Griffins increasing their lead to as many as 6 points. The Lakers cut the SHU lead back to 2 at 33-31 on a three pointer with 3:57 left in the half. Two three pointers from Wells and Brennan keyed a 12-2 run over the final three minutes of the half that gave the Griffins a 45-33 halftime advantage.
Two free throws and a two layins from
Chelsea Apke built the Griffins lead up to as many as 14 early in the second half. The Lakers then went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 57-50 with 12:30 remaining in the second half. Brennan was fouled and hit all three free throws to increase the lead back to 10 points. Mercyhurst then trimmed the lead to 64-61 with 6:49 left in the half. SHU responded with a layup from Apke and a three from Wells to push the lead back to 69-61 with just over five minutes to play. The Lakers then scored the next 5 points to cut the lead back to 69-66 with just under four minutes remaining. Wells then hit one of two free throws and after a few defensive stops Brennan drained a huge three to extend the lead to 73-66 with 2:01 to play. After a Laker three pointer, Apke calmly sank both ends of a one and one to push the lead back to 77-69 with 1:23 to play. SHU then hit two more free throws for the 79-71 victory.
Four Griffins reached double figures in the win.
Kelly Brennan again led the Griffins with 20 points.
Mariah Wells had 18 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
Chelsea Apke recorded her eighth double double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Jharrin Gill finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Griffins will close out their regular season on Wednesday when they travel to Erie, PA to take on Gannon. The Griffins currently sit in fifth place with a 8-13 mark. Pitt Johnstown is 7-14 and is at Edinboro on Wednesday. Slippery Rock is 6-14 and plays at Clarion on Sunday and hosts California on Wednesday. Two of these three teams will make the PSAC Playoffs as the 5th and 6th seeds.
