Erie, Pa. – Behind a combined 31 points and 14 rebounds from senior guard Allyson Ross and junior forward Bailey Kuhns, the Mercyhurst University Lakers claimed a 63-52 Northeast Conference win over the Le Moyne College women's basketball team Thursday evening at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in the first-ever meeting between the two programs as Division I foes in the NEC.

Mercyhurst led the Dolphins by two points at the end of both the second and third periods, then got off to a strong start in the fourth to take a 50-43 lead with 6:45 remaining.

A three-pointer from Le Moyne graduate forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent) with 1:48 left in the game cut Le Moyne's deficit to 54-52, but the Lakers ended the contest on a 9-0 run to claim the program's first Northeast Conference victory.

Roberts led Le Moyne in scoring with 13 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists and a career-high tying three steals. Rookie guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township) also scored in double figures for Le Moyne with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Clark also set new season highs in free throws attempted (8) and free throws made (6). Graduate guard Megan Bodziony (Wakefield, R.I./St. Andrew's School/Fordham/Bryant) added eight points, six rebounds and two steals to the Le Moyne cause, while senior guard Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) contributed six rebounds, two field goals and three steals.

Le Moyne recorded a season-best 10 steals during the contest, and shot 15-23 from the line compared to 7-9 for Mercyhurst.

Ross led all scorers with 16 points with the help of 4-8 shooting from three-point range. She also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out three assists and came up with two steals. Kuhns, who entered the contest as the NEC's leading scorer, recorded 15 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, while junior guard Jenna Van Schaik registered nine points, five rebounds, three assists and three of Mercyhurst's 10 steals.

Mercyhurst shot 10-30 from beyond the arc during the win, marking the third time this season that they've knocked down at least 10 threes in a game. Freshman guard Cici Hernandez shot 3-5 from three for the Lakers, and distributed a game-high four assists to go along with nine points and two steals.

Le Moyne shot just 1-9 from the field during the first quarter but limited Mercyhurst to 4-19 and faced a 10-5 deficit after 10 minutes of action. The Dolphins outscored the Lakers 18-15 during the second frame to make it 25-23 in favor of the home team at the intermission.

Junior guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) knocked down a three with 8:06 left in the second, which cut Le Moyne's deficit to 12-10 and gave have her sole possession of third place on Le Moyne's all-time career made three-point field goals list with 148.

Following a layup in the paint from Kuhns, Sophia Kelly drained a three for Mercyhurst at the 6:48 mark in the second to give the Lakers a 17-10 lead.

Clark picked off a baseline out of bounds pass during the next Mercyhurst possession, then sent a pass ahead to Florvil who drove into the lane and converted a layup through contact.

Mercyhurst took a 10-point lead with a three-pointer from Kuhns at the 5:21 mark in the second. Following the media timeout, Roberts scored a layup in the paint off a nice feed from Clark, but Kuhns answered with a reverse layup at the other end. Le Moyne then closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run with the help of four points from Roberts and three from Bodziony.

With 7:33 left in the third period, Clark swished a triple from near the top of the key to make it a one-point game. A little over one minute later, Bodziony used a nice hesitation move on the left side of the floor then split two defenders in the paint and finished a contested layup to put the Dolphins in front, 30-29. Another drive and score from Bodziony midway through the penultimate quarter made it a 7-0 spurt for Le Moyne, but Ross hit a three at the other end to tie the contest at 32-32.

Hernandez began to heat up down the stretch of the third period, knocking down three triples in the final 3:17 of the quarter, but Le Moyne found timely buckets from Roberts, Florvil, and a three from Clark with seven seconds on the clock to make it 41-39 in favor of the Lakers heading into the fourth.

Mercyhurst established a 50-43 lead with 6:45 left in the fourth following a three and a layup from Ross on consecutive possessions, then four straight free-throws from Clark cut the lead back to three.

Back-to-back baskets from Kuhns and Ross pushed the Mercyhurst lead back out to seven with 3:18 remaining, then Roberts drew a foul in the paint one minute later and sank two free throws to make it 54-49.

With a little under two minutes remaining in the game, Clark dribbled on the left wing, quickly crossed to her right, took a dribble towards the paint then kicked the ball out to the right corner for Roberts who drained a clutch three to make it a two-point game and force a Mercyhurst timeout.

Following a Le Moyne miss from inside the paint with just under a minute remaining, Hernandez grabbed the defensive rebound and sent a pass up the floor for Lauryn Stover who finished the fast break layup. Van Schaik came up with a steal with 30 seconds remaining, then Stover drew a foul and made two free throws during the ensuing Mercyhurst possession. Van Schaik knocked down five free throws in the final 23 seconds to close out the win for Mercyhurst.

The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will conclude its four-game road stand with a Northeast Conference matchup at Saint Francis University on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The Dolphins will play their first home conference game of the season on January 18 against Chicago State University.