Women's Hoops Rallies to Defeat Saint Anselm, 62-57
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.- The Merrimack women's basketball team mounted a second-half comeback to claim a 62-57 victory over Saint Anselm College Sunday afternoon at the Volpe Gym. The Warriors improve to 5-5 on the season and 3-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference with the win. The Hawks fall to 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the league following the loss.
Kelly Schatzlein (Tolland, Conn.) netted a career-best 20 points while ripping down six boards. Sarah Benischek (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) added 18 points while connecting on four-of-six attempts from downtown.
The Hawks jumped out to an early 6-0 lead before Merrimack could bury its first bucket of the game five minutes into the contest.
Facing a 14-point deficit with three minutes until halftime, the Warriors began to chip away at Saint Anselm's lead. Merrimack went on an 8-0 run to end the first period trailing by just six points, 30-24.
After the first 20 minutes of action, Benischek had seven points to her credit to lead the Warriors. Schatzlein registered six points and four rebounds while Gennifer Roy (Granby, Mass.) added five points in the first stanza. Merrimack shot 36% from the field while the Hawks nearly matched that with 34% field goal shooting in the first half.
The Warriors knotted up the game at 40 points each on a midrange jumper by Schatzlein with 12:15 to go in the game. The tie was the first time the teams were even on the scoreboard since the beginning of the game at 0-0. Merrimack eventually captured its first lead of the day on a triple by Benischek with 8:10 remaining.
The home team owned a 60-57 edge heading into the final minute of regulation. Tiffany Colon (Lawrence, Mass.) came up with a steal and sprung Taneka Brown (Lynn, Mass.) on a fast break to put the game out of reach.
Saint Anselm held the advantage on rebounds, 45-29, on the afternoon.
Merrimack finished with a 47.3% from the floor after sinking 59% of its shots in the second period. The Hawks shot 38% from the floor in the game.
"We played our best defense when it mattered most and came away with a hard-earned win," said head coach Helen Williams.
The Warriors return to the hardwood January 5 to square off against American International at Volpe Gym.
