Late Rally Not Enough as Women's Basketball Falls to Le Moyne, 65-58
Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team erased a double-digit halftime deficit to make it a two-possession game late in the second half, but the rally was not enough as the Warriors lost to the Le Moyne College Dolphins, 65-58, from Hammel Court on Saturday afternoon.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 58 | Le Moyne 65
Records: Merrimack (9-6, 5-5 NE-10) | Le Moyne (12-5, 6-4 NE-10)
Location: North Andover, Mass. | Hammel Court
How It Happened
The first half saw the Warriors put up their worst shooting numbers in an opening half to this point in the season, as Merrimack scored a season-low 17 points over the first 20 minutes.
Over the first eight minutes of the contest, the squads exchanged basketballs. With 11:59 left in the opening half, Emily Greer connected on a three-pointer to give the Dolphins a four-point the largest, the largest either team had at that point.
A little over a minute later, senior forward Aria Johnson (Los Osos, Calif.) made one-of-two from the free-throw line to make it 11-8, but after that the Warriors offense went cold. The Navy and Gold would score three points over the next 7:43 of action, including a scoreless stretch of over five minutes.
Over that span, the Dolphins went on a 14-3 run, but things certainly could have been worse for the Warriors. Junior guard Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) swished a three-pointer to make it 25-14 with less than three minutes left in the half.
Unforunately for the Warriors, Le Moyne made three of its final four shots to take a 33-17 advantage into halftime. It is the largest halftime deficit that Merrimack has face this season, and only the second time that Merrimack has trailed by double digits entering intermission.
The first four minutes of the second stanza proceeded exactly how the majority of the first half went, with the Dolphins collecting a 22-point lead at the 16:13 mark, their largest of the ball game.
Slowly but surely Merrimack would chip away. Trailing 49-31, Merrimack would go on an 8-1 run capped off by free throws from sophomore Caitlyn Garger (Hicksville, N.Y.) to make it 50-39 with 7:11 to go. Over the next five minutes the lead would hover around there for the Dolphins, until less than two minutes remaining, when two free throws from Chloe Rothman (Newton, Mass.) made it a single-digit contest for the first time since midway through the first half. After those free throws, Rothman connected a three to make it a seven-point game at 63-56. The senior would get another look at a three-pointer with seventy seconds left in the game, but missed the shot and that was close as the Warriors would get.
Le Moyne would hold on to collect a 65-58 victory. The Warriors have lost three of their first four games in 2015 and fall to .500 in Northeast-10 Conference play at 5-5 in the Northeast Division.
Inside The Numbers
- An inability to find a rhythm on offense did the Warriors in, as Merrimack shot just six-of-28 from the field over the first 20 minutes. Garger and Johnson combined to shoot just two-for-14 in the first half
- Senior guard Allison Wagner (Center Conway, N.H.) gave the Warriors solid minutes off the bench, finishing with 11 points including three-of-six from three-point range
- After not scoring in double digits all season long, junior point guard Tia Scott (New York, N.Y.) finished with 10 points, the second consecutive game that she has scored in double figures. Rothman lead the way for Merrimack with 16 points
- Johnson and Garger had their worst shooting games of the season, combing to shoot only two-of-17. Johnson entered the game leading the league and third in the nation with a shooting percentage of nearly 66 percent
- Nearly half of the Dolphins' point came in the paint, with Le Moyne outscoring the Navy and Gold, 32-18, inside
Up Next
Merrimack continues its two-game homestand on Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. when American International arrives in North Andover. Tipoff is scheduled for 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.
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
