Team Effort Propels Women's Basketball Past Bloomfield, 73-62, Friday Night
Links: Box Score
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team defeated the Bloomfield Bears, 73-62, in a non-conference affair played in New Jersey on Friday night. The Warriors controlled play throughout, only trailing twice in the contest.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 73 | Bloomfield 62
Records: Merrimack (7-3, 4-2 NE-10) | Bloomfield (5-4, 3-1 CACC)
Location: Bloomfield, N.J.
How It Happened
Through the first six minutes of the contest, the Warriors and Bears exchanged baskets and leads. At the 14:56 mark and the 14:15 mark, Merrimack trailed by one point, but after a Stormee Van Belle (Sunnyside, Wash.) gave the Warriors a 9-8 advantage, the Navy and Gold never trailed again.
In fact, that bucket from Van Belle sent the Warriors on a 9-0 run, with the rookie scoring seven of the nine points. The Warriors received good production from their bench over the first 20 minutes, as Merrimack got 17 combined points from Van Belle and Madison Ward (Binghamton, N.Y.).
The largest lead in the first half for Merrimack came at the 9:11 mark of the first half, after Caitlin Garger (Hicksville, N.Y.) hit a jumper to give the Warriors a 10-point advantage. Bloomfield would cut the deficit to four points with less than seven minutes remaining, but Merrimack responded with four straight points to double its advantage.
Merrimack scored the final two points of the first half on an Aria Johnson (Los Osos, Calif.) layup to take a 38-30 lead into the intermission.
The second half was more of the same. Less than five minutes into the first half, Merrimack took its largest lead of the game, 51-36. The lead would never dip below 10 points the rest of the way. The Warriors held their largest lead at the 8:35 mark of the second stanza, controlling a 17-point advantage. The final score read, 73-62, in favor of the Warriors.
Johnson was the star of the game for the Warriors, tying her career high and set a season high with 18 points. She posted a career high of 13 rebounds, playing one of the best games of her career. It was her fourth double-double of the season.
Inside The Numbers
- Merrimack dominated in the front court, as Van Belle and Ward joined Johnson in having strong nights. Van Belle totaled a career high in scoring, with 15 points, while Ward contributed all of her offense in the first half
- Merrimack had four players in double figures, as Garger poured in 17 points and Chloe Rothman (Newton, Mass.) added 10 points of her own. Rothman added 10 assists over 30 minutes
- Junior guard Tia Scott (New York, N.Y.) set a career high with 11 assists in 27 minutes of action. She returned to the court after missing the last game with an injury
- Merrimack had a significant edge in the post, outscoring the Bears 46-16 in the paint.
- Merrimack distributed the ball well, assisting on 26 of 33 field goals
Up Next
Merrimack returns to the court tomorrow against Nyack College at 7 p.m. in its final game of the 2014 calendar year.
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