Eisenhower’s Lainey Font guards a player from Mercyhurst Prep on Thursday. Times Observer Photo by Steve Younger

The Eisenhower girls basketball team welcomed first-place Mercyhurst Prep on Thursday night and, with the exception of the first quarter, held its own before falling 59-38.

The Knights, who won only two games a year ago, dropped to 11-9, but their improvement has been dramatic, as they regularly start three freshmen and two seniors.

The Lakers (15-5) jumped out to a 20-4 first-quarter lead, highlighted by junior Olivia Klyk scoring her 1,000th career point, and their lead grew to 34-11 by halftime.

Lainey Font led Eisenhower with 15 points, courtesy of five 3-pointers, including two in the final period when the Knights outscored the Lakers 17-12.

The Knights’ final regular-season game is today at Corry. They will be waiting for a call from the District 10 playoff selection committee on Sunday.

MERCYHURST PREP (59)

Lang 6 1 15, Pierce 0 0 0, Netkowicz 0 0 0, Nixon 2 0 5, MSavko 4 1 10, ESavko 0 0 0, Ferrick 1 1 4, Kulyk 9 2 23, Stevenson 1 0 2, Totals 23 5 59.

EISENHOWER (38)

Marino 2 0 4, Font 5 0 15, Belcher 3 0 6, Smyth 0 0 0, Dunn 3 0 6, Steinberg 2 2 7, Totals 15 2 38.

3-point goals — Lang 2, Nixon, MSavko, Ferrick, Kulyk 3, Font 5, Steinberg.

Mercyhurst Prep 20 14 13 12 — 59

Eisenhower 4 7 10 17 — 38