Women's Hoops Sets Sights On Third Straight Conference Win On Saturday
Game Notes (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
The Merrimack women's basketball team hits the road on Saturday looking for their third straight conference victory as they travel to Southern Connecticut for a 1:30 p.m. tip. Merrimack will be looking to improve on their 3-3 road record. The Warriors are coming off of a come-from-behind victory over Le Moyne on Tuesday night at Bert Hammel Court. The Owls enter the game with a 4-9 record including losing five straight conference games and four straight games overall. Southern Connecticut was downed 62-60 in their last contest.
ABOUT MERRIMACK:
The Warriors offensive attack has been very spread out this season as they have had six players lead the team in scoring. The Warriors are led by their senior captain Kelly Schatzlein who leads the NE-10 in rebounding averaging 11.1 rebounds per contest after hauling in nine rebounds in their last outing. Schatzlein also is averaging 12.2 points per contest for the Warriors while sophomore point guard Chloe Rothman has continued to grow this season, averaging 12.9 points to go along with 5.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game and shooting 42 percent from the floor. Seniors Jaclyn Lyons and Katie Ganser have enjoyed nice starts to the season as they are averaging 10.2 and 5.0 points per game so far. The bench has been a strength of the Warriors all year, Ashley Weissmann leads the bunch off the bench, scoring 8.4 points per game. Shelby Secor also has played well in her starting role as she is averaging 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest while shooting 39 percent from the floor.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
The Owls enter with a 4-9 overall mark including a 1-9 conference record after losing three straight games. Offensively Jackie Beathea leads the way averaging 15.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest. Mariah Hankton is second on the team averaging 12.8 points while Moni Smith-Ocran is averaging 9.2 points and 9.8 boards a game. As a team the Owls are averaging 17.4 offensive rebounds per contest and shooting 70 percent from the free throw line.
ALL-TIME SERIES:
The Warriors are 6-12 against Southern Connecticut State all-time including losing 62-50 to the Owls last season.
LAST GAME (MERRIMACK 82 - LE MOYNE 75):
The Merrimack women's basketball team picked up their second straight conference victory on Tuesday night by the score of 82-75 over the Le Moyne Dolphins. The Warriors shot a season-best 57.4 percent from the floor for the game including 59.3 percent in the second half. The Warriors were led on the night by their sophomore point guard Chloe Rothman, who scored a career-high 24 points and dished out eight assists. Kelly Schatzlein stayed hot for Merrimack as she finished with 18 points and nine rebounds while Ashley Weissmann came off the bench and scored 15 points on a career-high five three pointers.
ROTHMAN RACKS UP CAREER-HIGH 24 POINTS IN WIN:
Sophomore Chloe Rothman had the best game of her young career on Tuesday night as she finished with a career-best 24 points to go along with eight assists in the Warriors win over Le Moyne. Rothman finished the game 5-10 from the floor including 4-8 from three and 10-12 from the free throw line. Rothman drilled 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes while also grabbing two rebounds.
SCHATZLEIN LEADS NE-10 IN REBOUNDING:
Senior Kelly Schatzlein continued her strong play on Tuesday night as she scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Warriors win. Schatzlein finished the game 8-9 from the floor while dishing out two assists, blocking two shots and recording two steals. Schatzlein now leads the NE-10 in rebounding, averaging 11.3 boards per contest and is one of two players in the conference to average a double-double. If she can rack up 192 more rebounds this season she will be only the second Warrior ever to rack up 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career points.
HOT SHOOTING WARRIORS DOWN DOLPHINS:
The Merrimack Warriors had their best shooting conference game of the season on Tuesday as they finished the game going 27-for-47 from the floor including 9-19 from the three point line. The Warriors shot 55 percent in the first half and 59.3 percent in the second half which was good for 57.4 percent for the game. Kelly Schatzlein led the way from the floor finishing the game 8-9 while Ashley Weissmann went 5-9 from the floor including 5-7 from behind the arc.
WARRIORS WIN BENCH BATTLE ONCE AGAIN:
Another strength of the Warriors all season long has been the production of their bench players. On Saturday this continued as the Warriors improved to 7-2 on the season when their bench outscores their opponents bench. Merrimack finished the game with 24 bench points while the Chargers had nine. Ashley Weissmann and Tia Scott came off the bench and scored seven apiece while Cassi Amenta contributed with six points of her own in 17 minutes of action.
MERRIMACK HOLDS HUGE MARGIN OF VICTORY IN TEN WINS:
Merrimack already has doubled the amount of wins that they had all last season, through only 14 games. The Warriors average margin of victory in their 10 wins this season is impressive. The Warriors win their games by a average of 17.4 points. The Warriors have recorded wins of 48, 30 points, 20 points, 18 points twice, 15 points, 11 points and eight points so far this season. The young Warriors are learning how to close out games which was a problem they could not overcome last year with the game in the balance, nearing the end of the game.
