Women's Hoops Looks For Season Sweep of UMass Lowell on Saturday
Game Notes (PDF)
The Particulars:
The Merrimack women's basketball team will return to Hammel Court for their third of five consecutive home games as they will host UMass Lowell on Saturday. Merrimack is coming off of an 63-52 loss against Saint Anselm on Wednesday. UMass Lowell enters the contest after winning their last game against Stonehill 71-56.
About Merrimack:
The Warriors are led by senior captain Gennifer Roy who is averaging 15.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest this season. Roy is coming off of a 12 point outing against Saint Anselm, shooting 6-10 from the field, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. Kelly Schatzlein is leadng the team in scoring, averaging 16.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest. Schatzlein is coming off of a 19 point and seven rebound effort against Saint Anselm on Wednesday. Schatzlein has recorded 12 double-doubles this season. The freshman guard duo of Chloe Rothman and Allison Wagner have performed well so far with Rothman averaging 9.4 points, 5.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds and Wagner averaging 6.4 points and hitting a team-high 29 threes.
About The Competition:
The Riverhawks enter Saturday's contest with a 9-14 overall record after winning their last game against Stonehill by the score of 71-56. UMass Lowell is led offensively by Bianca Simmons who is averaging 17.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Brianna Wilson is averaging 10.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game so far this season. Sha'Nay Bushner is contributing with 10.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this season while starting 21 games. The Riverhawks are averaging an amazing 10.3 steals per game so far this season and also are averaging 14.7 offensive rebounds per contest.
All-Time Series:
The Warriors are 15-23 all-time against UMass Lowell. The Warriors defeated the Riverhawks earlier this season on the road at the Tsongas Center by the score of 70-65.
Last Game (Merrimack 52 - Saint Anselm 63):
The Merrimack women's basketball team was defeated on Wednesday night in the second of five consecutive home contests at Hammel Court. The Warriors were defeated by the score of 63-52 by the Saint Anselm Hawks, who won the season series over the Merrimack 2-0. The Warriors led at halftime by six points as they shot 61.9 percent from the field going 13-21 from the floor and 2-2 from the free throw line. The second half was not too friendly to the Warriors as they shot 33.3 percent from the field and the Hawks were able to shoot 55.6 percent. Saint Anselm took the ball in the post most of the second half in the victory and outscored the Warriors 24-18 in the points in the paint category. Another key factor in the loss for the Warriors was the turnover battle. The Warriors turned the ball over 19 times and the Hawks turned those turnovers into 21 points on the night. Saint Anselm was also able to grab 10 offensive rebounds in the victory and turned those into 13 second chance points, compared to the Warriors two second chance points. Kelly Schatzlein led the way for the Warriors scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the defeat. Gennifer Roy scored 12 points and isone point shy of becoming the fourth leading scorer in Merrimack College history.
Roy Continues to Climb All-Time Scoring Charts:
Senior guard Gennifer Roy had a solid performance on Wednesday as she recorded 12 points. Roy finished the game going 6-10 from the floor. Roy played 38 minutes, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists in the loss. With her performance on Saturday Roy is in 5th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,359 career points. Roy is just one point shy of fourth place on the Merrimack womens basketball scoring charts. The senior has led the team in scoring nine times this season. Roy is averaging 15.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game this year.
Schatzlein Ranks Second in The Conference in Rebounding:
Junior forward Kelly Schatzlein continued to pile up great numbers against the Skyhawks as she racked up 19 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's loss. Schatzlein is second in the conference in rebounds with 9.9 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 57.3 percent. Schatzlein is now averaging 16.0 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per contest this season. Schatzlein has racked up a team-high 12 double-doubles through 22 games this year and has led the team in rebounding in 17 of 22 games.
Warriors Shoot 47 Percent, Allow Hawks To Get On The Offensive Glass:
Merrimack is second in the conference overall shooting the basketball this season, making 44.2 percent of their shots. On Wednesday the Warrors shot 61.9 percent from the floor in the first half but were held down in the second half finishing the game shooting 46.7 percent. The Warriors were not effective from downtown as they went 4-19 which was good for only 21.1 percent for the game. Merrimack was able to shoot 85.7 percent from the free throw line but they only attempted seven free throws. The Warriors however could not keep the Hawks off of the offensive glass as they were able to grab 10 offensive rebounds on the night. Saint Anselm turned those 10 offensive boards into 13 second chance points, outscoring the Warriors by 11, the same margin they won the game by. Megan Howard led the Hawks in second chance points with six.
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.
