Women's Hoops Downed 74-61 by Lowell
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.- The Merrimack women's basketball team fell 74-61 to UMass Lowell Saturday afternoon at the Volpe Gym. The Warriors sink to 10-13 on the year and 8-11 in Northeast-10 action. The River Hawks improve to 9-14 overall and 8-11 in the league.
Gennifer Roy (Granby, Mass.) led Merrimack with 15 points on the afternoon to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Kelly Schatzlein (Tolland, Conn.) registered 11 points and eight boards for the Warriors while Chelsea Shea (South Burlington, Vt.) and Taneka Brown (Lynn, Mass.) scored nine and eight, respectively. Sarah Benischek (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) tallied six points and seven rebounds in the loss.
The Warriors found themselves down 15-8 with 13:25 remaining in the opening half. Schatzlein capped off a 7-0 spell with a old-fashioned three-point play to tie the score at 15-15 with 11 minutes left to play in the first frame. The sophomore converted a free throw after being fouled while draining a layup.
The River Hawks reclaimed a five-point edge before Merrimack matched the points to knot the game at 20-20 for the third tie of the afternoon with nine minutes until the break.
Lowell strung together an 11-2 run to go ahead 31-22 with 3:42 remaining in the first half. The Warriors chipped away at the River Hawks' advantage in the final minutes of the period. Brown hit a runner as the buzzer sounded to bring the first half to a close.
Merrimack trailed 39-33 at the intermission. Roy paced the Warriors through the opening 20 minutes with 11 points. Schatzlein recorded eight first-half points while Brown finished with six. Collectively, Merrimack shot 33% from the floor while Lowell sank 49% of its field goal attempts in the half.
The Warriors closed the gap quickly to open the second frame. Benischek pulled Merrimack to within a point of the visitors two minutes into the half by completing a three-point play at the free throw line, 41-40.
The River Hawks rattled off seven-straight points to take a 48-40 lead with a 7-0 run. A triple by Benischek ended an 11-2 streak by Lowell midway through the second stanza.
A three-pointer by Shea cut the home team's deficit to six, 56-50, with under nine minutes remaining in the game.
The visitors scored in short spurts to capture a double-digit lead with 3:50 showing on the clock, 64-53. Merrimack used a 5-0 spell to inch closer to the River Hawks, 64-58.
Lowell converted eight free throws down the stretch to earn the 74-61 victory.
The Warriors finished the contest with a 34.3% field goal percentage while the River Hawks shot 46.2% from the floor in the game. Lowell held a 46-39 edge in the rebounding category.
Sha'Nay Bushner and Bianca Simmons each scored a game-high 25 for the visitors.
"We played really well coming out of halftime and making it a one-point game. We did a good job of cutting down on turnovers we just need to do the little things better," said head coach Helen Williams.
Merrimack continues the homestand February 16 as Franklin Pierce travels to North Andover for a conference clash.
