Women's Basketball Falls to #22 Tampa in Courtyard Classic Championship
NORTH ANDOVER, MA - The Merrimack women's basketball team
dropped a 70-59 decision to #22 University of Tampa on Saturday
afternoon in the Courtyard by Marriott Classic
Championship.
Three Warriors were in double figures, but 30 points and 13
rebounds from tournament MVP, Tiara Cook was too much for Merrimack
to handle on interior.
Senior Casey Miller (Fairbanks, AK) scored a
team-high 21 points and swiped four steals. Miller needs just
88 points to surpass the 1,000-point plateau in her career at
Merrimack.
In a dominating performance on the glass, the Spartans-the
favorite to win the Sunshine State Conference-grabbed 49 boards to
Merrimack's 23. Those boards led to 15 second chance points
for Tampa, compared to zero for the Warriors.
Merrimack shot 4-of-9 from long range in the first half to only
trail by two at the half, but going 0-for-7 in the second allowed
the Spartans to open up the lead to 11 with four minutes to play.
Head Coach Helen Williams said of the loss
to the Spartans, "I'm proud of our effort as a whole, but once we
figure out how to put an entire game together we'll be successful."
With the loss, Merrimack falls to 1-3 on the season and Tampa
improves to 3-0 entering Conference play.
In the Consolation game prior to the Championship, Tiffin ran
away from East Stroudsburg, 57-44 when Mandy Jaeb scored a
game-high 17 and Karli Mast poured in 16 for the Dragons.
All-tourney selection DeAnna Rayam was the lone Warrior in double
figures, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven boards.
Courtyard by
Marriott Classic All-Tournament Team
Tiffin University - Mandy Jaeb
East Stroudsburg - DeAnna Rayam
Merrimack - Tiffany Colon
Tampa - Taja Green
Most Valuable Player: Tiara Cook - Tampa
The Warriors resume Conference action against #9 Stonehill
College, the favorite to win the Northeast-10 Conference, on
Tuesday at 5:30pm in Easton, Massachusetts.
