Lakers fall to 5-12 after loss to Crimson Hawks: Brian Vail photoThe lady Lakers had a tough weekend against the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks. Full court pressure and consistent three-point shooting troubled the women’s basketball team, resulting in a 100-47 loss on Saturday, Jan. 26.

Junior forward Alayna White knows that the Lakers need to make changes to improve.

“Our team had a slow start this year, but every game is coming together and getting better. To improve our record we simply have to play a 40-minute game,” said White. “We have to play perfect; rebound more, less turnovers, and knock down shots. We get a lot of shots up, but we have to knock them down.”

Freshman guard Adrienne Kloecker feels the Lakers will improve as they become more consistent throughout the season.

“I think that our team needs to become more consistent in games. We have been doing better lately when it comes to rebounding, but there is always room for improvement,” said Kloecker. “We need to focus on executing plays all the time, because when we are patient and run the plays, they work.”

On Wednesday, Jan. 23, the Lakers played hometown rival Gannon University. After a hard fight and close game the Lakers fell to the Knights, 59-43. The loss was very tough for the Lakers to endure.

“It was a very emotional game for us. We wanted to win this game because we knew we could. It wasn’t a good feeling to lose, but it was a great feeling that we came out and fought through all the adversity during the game,” White said.

“This is the first time in my college career playing our rival Gannon, and, of course, we wanted that win really badly. What makes it worse is that we all know we could have beat them, it was the first three minutes of the second half that put us in a hole that we couldn’t get out of,” Kloecker said.

Although the Lakers may be struggling in the win column, they are confident in themselves and each other as the season progresses. The Lakers will face Edinboro University on Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 5:30 p.m. in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.