Second-Half Comeback Comes Up Short as Women's Basketball Loses to Saint Anselm, 53-51
Links: Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team faced a 15-point deficit against the Saint Anselm Hawks before they even scored a single point on Wednesday night, but the Warriors methodically worked their way back into the game, even tying it at 51 on an Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) jumper with 20 seconds to play. On the next possession, Candace Andrews hit the game-winner for the Hawks with just four seconds left, handing Merrimack a heartbreaking 53-51 loss from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 51 | Saint Anselm 53
Records: Merrimack (12-12, 8-11 NE-10) | Saint Anselm (8-16, 6-13 NE-10)
Location: Stoutenburgh Gymnasium | Manchester, N.H.
Northeast-10 Postseason Outlook
Merrimack is still is a victory away from clinching a spot in the NE-10 Championships. If the Warriors finish in fourth or fifth, they will play in a first-round game one week from Friday. The top-three teams in the division get a bye until the quarterfinals.
1) Stonehill (20-3, 16-3)
2) Franklin Pierce (16-8, 12-7)
3) Assumption (14-10, 9-10)
4) Merrimack (12-12, 8-11)
5) Saint Michael's (11-13, 6-13)
6) Bentley (11-14, 6-13)
7) Saint Anselm (8-16, 6-13)
8) Southern NH (11-15, 5-14)
How It Happened
The opening half did not begin well for the Warriors, as the Hawks started the game on a 15-0 run, spanning the first five minutes of the game. The Navy and Gold missed their first eight shots from the field until Chloe Rothman (Newton, Mass.) hit a jumper to make it a 13-point game.
Senior forward Cassi Amenta (Lynn, Mass.) checked into the game and scored three consecutive field goals to make it 19-8 with 11:20 left in the opening half. Four minutes later, Rothman hit another jumper and the score read 23-11 with 7:56 to play.
With 7:08 to go and the Hawks leading by 12, the home team scored eight unanswered points to build a 20-point advantage, their largest of the game. Freshman Stormee Van Belle (Sunnyside, Wash.) ended the streak by scoring a layup with less than three minutes to play in the half.
The first stanza ended with the Warriors trailing, 31-17. Merrimack shot just 7-of-28 over the first 20 minutes, with Amenta leading the way with six points on 3-of-4 from the field. The Warriors missed all eight of their attempts from beyond the arc. The Hawks scored 15 points in the first five minutes, but only scored 16 over the remainder of the half.
Senior guard Allison Wagner (Center Conway, N.H.) hit a three-pointer at the 16:49 mark of the second half to cap off a 9-5 run for Merrimack which made it a 10-point game at 36-26. The Hawks answered though with back-to-back baskets to push the lead back to 14 points at 40-26.
At the 12:54 mark, Rothman reached a personal milestone. The Warriors senior pulled up from the right corner and drained a wide open three-pointer, connecting on the 185th trey of her career. The shot breaks the previous Merrimack record for career three's, set by Christina Siragusa in 2004. The shot was a turning point in the game as well, making the score a single-digit margin at 40-31. For a highlight of the shot, click here!
Caitlyn Abela would answer the Rothman trey with a three-pointer of her own to push the Hawks' advantage back to 12 points, but five unanswered points from Van Belle and Wagner made it a seven-point game, 43-36, with 10:01 to play. Saint Anselm countered with four straight points, but another Wagner make from long distance pushed the deficit to eight at 47-39 with 7:04 left.
Senior forward Aria Johnson (Los Osos, Calif.), who was quiet for most of the game, scored consecutive buckets to make it a one-possession game at 49-46 with less than five minutes to play. Less than two minutes later, Wagner hit her fourth straight three-pointer and the Saint Anselm lead was just two, 51-49.
Over the next two minutes, neither team would score. Merrimack had a chance to tie or take the lead three times, but Rothman missed two three and Johnson committed a turnover. After a Saint Anselm turnover, Merrimack called a timeout and the fourth time was the charm for the Warriors. After missing seven of her first eight shots, Weissmann hit a baseline jumper to tie the game at 51 with 21 seconds left.
The Hawks would get one more chance, and take advantage of it. After enduring a scoring drought of over four minutes, Andrews drove down the left side of the line and hit an eight-footer to give the Hawks the lead for good. Rothman's halfcourt heave came up short of the buzzer as the Hawks walked away with the 53-51 win.
Inside The Numbers
- Wagner, the Warriors captain, appeared in her 100th career game for Merrimack and started for the third consecutive game. She tied with Rothman for the team high with 12 points, all of which came off second-half three-pointers
- It was a tale of two halves for both teams. Saint Anselm scored 31 of its 53 points over the first 20 points, but for Merrimack it was the exact opposite as the Warriors scored 17 points on 25 percent shooting in the first half compared to 34 points on 47 percent shooting in the second stanza
- Three players scored in double figures for the Hawks, with Raquel Johnson pacing the home team with 18 points. Kaila Duarte totaled 12 rebounds and six points, giving the Warriors frontcourt all they could handle in the paint
- Johnson entered the game averaging 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest over the last four, but finished with just nine points and seven boards in 21 minutes
- Amenta gave the Warriors good minutes, posting six points and nine rebounds, which marks a season high for the fourth-year player
Up Next
Merrimack will return home on Saturday for its final regular-season contest at Hammel Court against Franklin Pierce at 1 p.m. The game marks Senior Day, as Amenta, Johnson, Melissa Miller (North Andover, Mass.), Rothman and Wagner will be honored as part of a pregame ceremony. 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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