Women's Hoops Heads to Nationally Ranked Bentley For Conference Matchup on Tuesday
Game Notes (pdf)
The Particulars:
The Merrimack women's basketball team will hit the road for a matchup with conference leading Bentley on Tuesday night. Merrimack is coming off of an 68-69 loss at the hands of the Assumption Greyhounds on Saturday. Bentley enters the contest after losing their last contest to the Southern Connecticut by the score of 63-59.
About Merrimack:
The Warriors are led by Gennifer Roy who is averaging a team-high 15.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest this season. Roy is coming off of a 18 point outing against Assumption, shooting 6-9 from the field and 4-5 from the free throw line. Kelly Schatzlein is second on the team in scoring averaging 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest. Schatzlein is coming off of a 25 point and six rebound effort against Assumption on Saturday. Schatzlein has recorded 11 double-doubles this season. The freshman guard duo of Chloe Rothman and Allison Wagner have performed well so far with Rothman averaging 9.9 points, 5.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds and Wagner averaging 6.2 points and hitting a team-high 26 threes.
About The Competition:
The Falcons enter Tuesday's contest with a 17-3 overall record after losing their last game against Southern Connecticut by the score of 63-59. Bentley is led offensively by Lauren Battista who is averaging 18.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Jacqui Brugliera is averaging 11.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game so far this season. Courtney Finn is contributing with 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season while starting all 20 games. The Falcons are averaging an amazing 73.8 points per contest this season while holding down the first seed in the conference.
All-Time Series:
The Warriors are 12-56 all-time against Bentley. The Warriors were defeated by the Falcons earlier this season at Hammel Court by the score of 87-58.
Last Game (Merrimack 68 - Assumption 69):
The Merrimack women's basketball team was defeated on Saturday afternoon by the Assumption Greyhounds at the buzzer, 69-68. The Warriors were led offensively by Kelly Schatzlein who scored 25 points and hauled in six rebounds on 10-16 from the field and 5-8 from the free throw line. The Warriors took the one point lead with eight seconds remaining in the game but the Greyhounds drove the length of the court and scored the game-winning bucket as time expired. The Warriors won the battle of points in the paint as they scored 34 points compared to Assumptions 32. Merrimack turned the ball over 16 times on Saturday leading to 17 points for the Greyhounds. The benches were not a huge factor on Saturday afternoon as the Greyhounds scored 12 bench points and Merrimack only scored four. Chloe Rothman dished out a career-high 11 assists for the Warriors in the loss.
Roy Continues to Climb All-Time Scoring Charts:
Senior guard Gennifer Roy had another steady performance on Saturday as she scored 18 points. Roy finished the game going 6-9 from the floor and 4-5 from the free throw line. Roy also grabbed three rebounds and played 39 minutes in the loss. With her performance on Saturday Roy is in 5th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,325 career points. Roy is 35 points shy of fourth place on the Merrimack womens basketball scoring charts. The senior has led the team in scoring eight times this season. Roy is averaging 15.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this year.
Schatzlein Contines to Put Up Big Numbers:
Junior forward Kelly Schatzlein continued her steady play for the Warriors as she recorded a team-high 25 points and six rebounds in the loss. Schatzlein is second in the conference in rebounds with 10.2 per contest and second in blocks per contest with 1.7 a game. She is also third in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 56.6 percent. Schatzlein is now averaging 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per contest this season. Schatzlein has racked up a team-high 11 double-doubles through nineteen games this year and has led the team in rebounding in 15 of 18 games.
Rothman Continues Solid Play But Turnovers Hinder Warriors:
Freshman point guard Chloe Rothman continued her solid play running the team on Saturday afternoon as she recorded a career-high 11 assists in the loss. Rothman also chipped in with six points and three rebounds on 2-6 from the field. Rothman is now averaging 10.1 points, 5.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds per contest in her freshman year. The biggest problem for the Warriors on Saturday was once again turning the ball over as they committed 16 turnovers on the afternoon. The Greyhounds turned the 16 turnovers into 17 points, winning the second chance point category 17-5 for the afternoon.
Avebe Shines in First Start of The Season:
Seeing her first start of the season, senior Valerie Avebe recorded a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Avebe played a career-high 25 minutes and scored a career-high 13 points in the loss on Saturday. Avebe was a force on the defensive side of the ball and went 4-6 from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line offensively.
Merrimack's New Head Coach Monique LeBlanc:
Monique LeBlanc is enterng her first season as head coach of the Merrimack Warriors. LeBlanc brings over seven years of division I coaching experience to North Andover. LeBlanc spent the last three seasons as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Northern Arizona University.
