Women's Basketball Hosts Franklin Pierce On Senior Night On Tuesday
Game Notes (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
The Merrimack women's basketball team returns home for their Senior Day at Bert Hammel Court on Tuesday at 5:30 pm as they will take on the Franklin Pierce Ravens. The Warriors are currently in the 10th and final playoff spot after clinching a playoff berth last game out and can move up to 9th at best. The Ravens enter the contest with a record of 17-8 after winning their last game over UMass Lowell by the score of 101-86. The Ravens have won three of their last four conference games while the Warriors have won two straight.
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 ranks second in the NE-10 in rebounding averaging 10.3 rebounds per contest after finishing the Warriors last game with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Schatzlein also is averaging 12.0 points per contest for the Warriors while sophomore point guard Chloe Rothman has continued to grow this season, averaging a team-high 12.2 points to go along with 4.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds a game. Seniors Jaclyn Lyons and Katie Ganser have enjoyed nice starts to the season as they are averaging 9.6 and 4.4 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 8.6 points per game and Tia Scott is averaging 5.3 points and 2.8 assists while starting the last six contests. Shelby Secor has been solid all year in her starting role averaging 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
The Ravens enter with a record of 17-8 overall and they are led offensively by Kara Charette who is averaging 13.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest while shooting 53 percent from the floor. Senior Tiffany Johnson ranks second on the team in points, averaging 12.8 points while grabbing 5.5 rebounds and dishing out 3.0 assists per game. The Ravens alson average 9.5 steals per contest defensively.
ALL-TIME SERIES:
The Warriors are 8-16 against Franklin Pierce all-time including defeating the Ravens on opening night this season by the score of 63-60.
LAST GAME (MERRIMACK 65 - SO. NEW HAMPSHIRE 62):
The Merrimack women's basketball team clinched a playoff berth on Saturday as they defeated the Southern New Hampshire Penmen by the score of 65-62 on the road. With the win, Merrimack also clinched their first winning record since the 2004-05 season. Sophomore Chloe Rothman sealed the game for the Warriors in the final minute as she sank two free throws to give the Warriors the lead which they never gave up. Rothman finished the game with 17 points in 29 minutes of action off the bench while freshman Tia Scott scored 11 big points for the Warriors as she started her sixth straight contest. Kelly Schatzlein continued her steady play as she nearly recorded her 13th double-double of the season as she finished with nine points and a game-high 11 boards in the win.
SENIOR NIGHT FOR THREE WARRIORS:
The game on Tuesday night at Bert Hammel Court will be the last home game for three Merrimack seniors. Jaclyn Lyons will be playing in her final home contest after two seasons at Merrimack. She is averaging a career-best 9.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game this season. Fellow senior and two-year team captain, Katie Ganser, will play in her final home game in her four year career and is averaging 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Kelly Schatzlein will play in her final home game after proving to be one of the best post players in Merrimack history as she ranks eighth all-time in points with 1,241 and second in rebounds with 909.
ROTHMAN LEADS WAY WITH 17 POINTS AND CLUTCH FREEBIES:
Chloe Rothman has been coming off the bench in the last six contests and has been a major contributor. On Saturday, Rothman continued her hot play as she scored a game-high 17 points in 29 minutes of action. Rothman sank two free throws in the final 20 seconds to propel the Warriors into the playoffs as they downed SNHU. For the season, she leads the Warriors averaging 12.2 points per contest.
TIA SCOTT FLOURISHES IN STARTING ROLE:
The Warriors have been getting solid minutes from freshman Tia Scott in her starting role the past six games and this continued on Saturday. Scott had a great all-around game for the Warriors as she finished with 11 points, six assists and four steals in only 19 minutes of action. Scott finished the game 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe.
SCHATZLEIN SECOND IN NE-10 IN REBOUNDING:
Senior Kelly Schatzlein continued her solid play on Saturday as she grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and scored nine points in the win. Schatzlein now ranks second in the NE-10 in rebounding, averaging 10.3 boards and 12.0 points per contest and is one of three players in the conference to average a double-double. If she can rack up 91 more rebounds this season, she will be only the second Warrior ever to rack up 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career points.
LYONS LEADS NE-10 IN THREE POINT PERCENTAGE:
Merrimack senior Jaclyn Lyons has been the most consistent player on the court for the Warriors all season long as she ranks third on the team in points per game averaging 9.6 points. Lyons had a quiet game on Saturday as she was held to five points and one rebound on 2-for-5 from the floor and 1-for-3 from behind the arc. Lyons now leads the NE-10 in three point percentage as she is shooting at a 42.1 percent clip so far this season.
