Erkson's Double-Double Highlights 63-58 Loss To Bryn Athyn

BRYN ATHYN, Pa. – Junior Holli Erkson (Cooperstown, N.Y.) picked up her first collegiate double-double Saturday afternoon as the Wells College women's basketball team posted a 63-58 loss to Bryn Athyn College on the road. With the loss, Wells drops to 2-8 overall (1-4 within North Eastern Athletic Conference play) while the host Lions move to 4-7 (3-3 NEAC).

Erkson reached double-digit rebounds for the first time in her career, hauling in 11 while adding 18 points to lead the team in that statistic. Senior Kaitlynne Knapp (Port Byron, N.Y.) ranked second on the squad, shooting 6-for-11 from the floor to reach 14 points. Junior Lindsay Achzet (Johnstown, N.Y.) led the way with five takeaways for the Express, who also saw three assists from Erkson and junior Jasmine Thomas (Las Vegas, Nev.).

The Express owned only two leads in the contest and both were keyed by three-point baskets by Erkson. Trailing by a 15-13 score with 9:54 left in the first half, a three-ball by Erkson launched Wells ahead 16-15. Bryn Athyn's Bianca Feliciano countered with a trey of her own only 12 seconds later, but Erkson dialed in from long distance with the game's next basket to grant her squad another one point lead, 19-18.

Feliciano would answer an Erkson three-point basket with one of her own, however, and the Lions captured a 21-19 lead at 6:08 which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. Bryn Athyn would go on to score the game's next four points, but Wells eventually tied the game at 24 with 2:13 left in the first half.

Despite the apparent momentum shift at the time, Wells would allow a three-pointer to Feliciano almost immediately after tying the game and, once again, had to play catch-up down the stretch. Bryn Athyn built a 30-26 lead at the half as the Express committed two turnovers in the final 34 seconds of play and were unable to shrink the deficit.

Achzet would bury two free throws to open the second half, cutting the score to 30-28, but Bryn Athyn would continue their hot shooting with four-straight points. Back-to-back baskets by Brittany Vick, one a jumper from the paint and the next from beyond the arc, would effectively end the game as the Lions captured a nine-point lead as Wells ran out of chances to tie the game down the stretch.

Trailing by only four points in the game's final minute, the Express were unable to overcome the offensive damage done by Bryn Athyn in the game's first 39 minutes. The Express committed a costly turnover in the final 22 seconds and did not convert on their final two field goals. The Lions picked up three more points off of free throws, capturing the win by seven points over Wells.

Feliciano was 5-for-5 for Bryn Athyn, converting all four three-point attempts, to post 15 points for the victors. Kristina Clark scored 14 points after an 8-for-10 performance from the charity stripe while Sydney LaBat's 10 points rounded out the double-digit scoring for Bryn Athyn.

Wells was outshot by the Lions 37%-to-32.8% and an impressive 18-for-22 performance by Bryn Athyn from the foul line helped the hosts capture the win. Bryn Athyn also won the turnover battle, committing only three fewer than the Express (27-to-24) while registering nearly 20 steals collectively.

The Express have an important game ahead of them on Sunday, Jan. 18 as they will look to defeat Penn St.-Abington on the road at noon. The Nittany Lions boast an unblemished 6-0 league record and have lost only one game in 10 chances so far in the 2014-15 season.