Women's Basketball Suffers Setback at Stonehill
NORTH EASTON, Mass.- The Merrimack women's basketball team dropped a 76-61 decision to Stonehill Tuesday evening at the Merkert Gym. The Warriors sink to 10-11 on the year and 8-9 in Northeast-10 play. The Skyhawks escalate their overall record to 15-8 with a 9-9 league mark. The two teams split the season series as Merrimack claimed a triple overtime victory earlier in the year.
Gennifer Roy (Granby, Mass.) led the way for the Warriors with 19 points in the game. Kelly Schatzlein (Tolland, Conn.) contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks on the night. Taneka Brown (Lynn, Mass.) finished with eight points while Sarah Benischek (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) added seven to go along with four assists.
Stonehall grabbed an early 14-0 lead after five minutes of play. Roy sparked Merrimack's offense by knocking down a mid-range jumper and a pair of treys to pull cut the deficit to six, 14-8.
Tiffany Colon (Lawrence, Mass.) halted a 13-0 run by the Skyhawks by draining a jump shot from the left wing with seven minutes remaining in the opening frame.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Roy and Benischek slashed the home team's lead to 11, 34-23. Merrimack closed out the first half with a 10-0 run to get to within seven points at the break, 34-27.
Roy paced the Warriors through the opening 20 minutes with 11 points while Schatzlein finished with six to her credit. As a team, Merrimack shot 38% from the floor and 42% from three-point range while Stonehill owned a 41% field goal percentage in the first half.
The Warriors came out of the intermission swinging. The visitors made it a one-possession game with a pair of buckets in the first two minutes of the half, 34-31.
An 11-4 run by the Skyhawks, restored the home team's lead to double-figures with under 12 minutes left to play, 45-35.
Stonehill gained separation in the second half by shooting 33% from behind the arc.
Merrimack finished the game with a 38% field goal percentage. The Skyhawks connected on 40% of their attempts from the floor including 32% from downtown. Stonehill held a 48-31 margin in the rebounding column.
"We need to start the game with more intensity and focus. A strong start will set us up to finish well," said head coach Helen Williams.
The Warriors close out the three-game road swing with a conference contest at Saint Michael's February 10.
