Second-Half Rally Falls Just Short as Women's Basketball Loses vs. No. 15 Stonehill, 63-60
Links: Box Score
EASTON, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team erased a 14-point second deficit to nearly upset the 15th-ranked Stonehill College Skyhawks on Wednesday night, but eventually lost by three points, 63-60. The Warriors made a return to divisional play for the first time in five weeks, using a 12-2 second-half run to nearly defeat a ranked opponent for the first time in over one year.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 60 | No. 15 Stonehill 63
Records: Merrimack (10-9, 6-8 NE-10) | No. 15 Stonehill (17-2, 13-2 NE-10)
Location: Merkert Gymnasium | Easton, Mass.
What They Said
Head coach Monique LeBlanc: "It was a great battle with one of the top teams in the country. We committed too many first-half turnovers and that made it difficult to get our offense going. The team played hard and with a lot of intensity."
NE-10 Postseason Outlook
1) Stonehill (17-2, 13-2)
2) Franklin Pierce (11-7, 9-6)
3) Assumption (12-8, 7-8)
4) Merrimack (10-9, 6-8)
5) Southern NH (10-11, 4-10)
6) Saint Anselm (6-13, 4-10)
7) Saint Michael's (9-11, 4-11)
8) Bentley (8-13, 3-12)
How It Happened
The matchup pitted the divisional leaders in the Skyhawks against the third-place Warriors. In the team's first meeting, way back during the month of November, Stonehill left North Andover with a five-point victory.
Fast forward to the second half, where a few minutes in it appeared that the 15th-ranked team in the country would pull away from the Navy and Gold.
The second half began with Aria Johnson (Los Osos, Calif.) hitting a layup to make it 35-29, but the Skyhaws answered with an 8-0 to take a 14-point lead with 15:48 left in the game. The Warriors absorbed that run before going on a six-point scamper of their own, highlighted by back-to-back buckets from Junior center Madison Ward (Binghamton, N.Y.), to cut the deficit to single digits again at 43-35. The Skyhawks proved once again why they lead the Northeast Division, as Shannon Brown hit a three to make it 46-35 with 14:06 left.
After that shot, the Warriors responded with their best play of the night. Merrimack embarked on a 12-2 run to make it 48-47 with less than 10 minutes to go. Forward Cassi Amenta (Lynn, Mass.) made back-to-back baskets to close out the run. Captains Allison Wagner (Center Conway, N.H.) and Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) also hit threes during this stretch.
Down the stretch the lead for Stonehill never was greater than six points, but the Warriors also never got closer than within one-possession. The Warriors were within two points at 55-53 and had three possessions to tie or take the lead, but turned it over once and Chloe Rothman (Newton, Mass.) missed two three-pointers. Paige Marshall hit a jumper to extend the lead to four points, 57-53, with 2:40 to go.
With less than one minute to go, Samantha Hyslip made a jumper to make it 61-55. Rothman would score five unanswered, but her last field goal came with just two seconds left. Amy Pelletier for the Skyhawks made three free throws with just one second left, and the Warriors left a desperation heave short of the hoop, allowing the Skyhawks to escape with a three-point victory.
At the beginning of the game, Stonehill started hot from the field, hitting their first five shots en route to an 13-5 advantage less than three minutes into the game. With 16:35 to go in the opening half, senior forward Tori Faieta hit two free throws to five the Skyhawks their first double-digit lead of the game, 15-5.
Ward made an early appearance in the game, hitting a layup to make it 15-7 with 15:07 remaining in the half. Two possession later on the defensive end, Ward picked up a defensive rebound and a blocked shot. With 11:43 remaining in the first half, Rothman drilled a three-point from the left wing to make it 17-10. Unfortunately for the Warriors, less than a minute later Ashley Gendron of the Skyhawks answered with a three of her own to make it 20-10 at the midway point of the half.
Merrimack gained momentary momentum by scoring four straight points to make it 20-14. The Skyhawks answered with a long two-pointer from the corner and called a timeout with 7:16 left in the half.
Wagner connected on a three-pointer with 5:26 remaining, cutting the deficit to seven points at 24-17. The 15th-ranked team in the country answered with seven unanswered points to take a 14-point lead, 31-17, which was their largest at that point of the half. After the final bucket of the run from Faieta, the Warriors called a timeout with less than four minutes left in the half.
Out of the timeout, Weissmann hit a three to make it 31-20. The teams would exchange baskets over the final couple minutes until Merrimack scored the final four points of the half to make it a single-digit game, 35-27, at halftime. Rothman, Weissmann and Johnson combined for 18 first-half points.
Inside The Numbers
- Ward gave the Warriors some of her best minutes of the season. She scored eight points and added six rebounds plus three blocks in 17 minutes off the bench
- Rothman led the way with 17 points on six-of-14 shooting, including three-for-six from three-point range. She also added five assists and four rebounds
- Skyhawks forward Faieta entered the game averaging a double-double and did not disappoint, totaling 19 points and 10 boards. Merrimack did control the glass though, outrebound Stonehill by nine caroms
- Junior guard Tia Scott (New York, N.Y.), the conference's leader in assists per game, posted eight helpers but also committed eight turnovers. Merrimack did not help themselves in that department, giving up the ball 23 times as a team. Defensively though, they did limit Stonehill to only 13 points off of those miscues
Up Next
Merrimack continues on the road this week when the Warriors travel to Manchester, N.H. to take on Southern New Hampshire University. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
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