Women's Basketball's Second-Half Comeback Falls Short; Warriors Fall 78-76 at Franklin Pierce
Links: Box Score
RINDGE, N.H. – After Franklin Pierce burst out to an 18-point first-half lead, the Merrimack College women's basketball team fought valiantly to roar back in the second half only to see the Ravens come out on top, 78-76, on Saturday afternoon at the Fieldhouse.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 76 | Franklin Pierce 78
Records: Merrimack (2-2, 0-2 NE-10) | Franklin Pierce (3-1, 2-0 NE-10)
Location: Fieldhouse | Rindge, N.H.
How It Happened
At the 7:39 mark of the first half, the Ravens hit a jumper to take a 28-10 lead, taking the pace of play to Merrimack over the first 12:21 of the contest. The Warriors, however, played strongly the rest of the way, nearly erasing the deficit and escaping with their first road win of the season.
Over the final seven minutes of the first half, the Navy and Gold went on a and 18-7 run, only giving Franklin Pierce a seven-point advantage entering halftime. Five different players scored for the Warriors over that span, including 10-combined points from guards Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) and Chloe Rothman (Newton, Mass.).
The Navy and Gold waited until the second half to play its best basketball, led by the play of Rothman. The Newton native would score 21 of her season-high 30 points over the final 20 minutes, allowing the Warriors to take the lead for most of the second stanza.
The Ravens led 37-30 less than one minute into the second half before the Warriors went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes.
The teams would exchange baskets over the next few minutes until Merrimack took hold of the game at the 12:49 mark. Rothman made two free throws to give the Warriors a 51-49 advantage. Merrimack would hold the lead from that point until the waning seconds of the game, but the game was tied four separate times over the next 12 minutes.
The largest lead Merrimack would hold was six points after Aria Johnson (Los Osos, Calif.) hit two free throws to make it 60-54 with 8:31 to play. Merrimack would also lead, 66-60, after senior Melissa Miller (North Andover, Mass.) hit a layup for two of her six points over 19 minutes of action.
The Ravens went on a 6-0 run after that to tie the game, 66-66. Rothman stepped up for the Warriors, scoring four of Merrimack's next eight points to stretch the lead to 74-70 with 2:02 left in the game.
With 24 seconds left to play, Kara Charette made a layup to give Franklin Pierce a one-point advantage. The Navy and Gold had a couple cracks to take a lead, but Johnson missed a layup and then turned the ball over, as the Warriors were unable to complete the comeback.
Inside The Numbers
- With her 30 points, Rothman became the 19th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. She also was four points shy of her career high (34), one that she set last season against Southern Connecticut.
- Johnson finished second on the team in scoring with 17 points, increasing her team-leading scoring average to 14.3 points per game
- Franklin Pierce won the game on the glass, outrebounding Merrimack 41-32, including 15-7 edge on the offensive glass. Those boards led to a 16-6 gap in second-chance points, in favor of the Ravens
- The Ravens featured two players with at least 20 points, including Charette who had a team-high 22 on seven-for-nine shooting
Up Next
Merrimack returns home on Tuesday to take on Saint Anselm at 5:30 p.m. Single-game tickets will be available for purchase online at this link, or by calling the Merrimack Athletics Box Office at 978-837-5324. Adult tickets cost $5, while youth/senior tickets cost $3. All tickets are general admission seating.
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
