Women's Basketball Uses Strong Defensive Effort to Beat Southern NH, 64-54
Links: Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H – The Merrimack College women's basketball team collected its first lead of the game midway through the first half and never looked back, as the Warriors defeated the Southern New Hampshire Penmen, 64-54, on Saturday afternoon to improve to 7-8 in Northeast-Division play. The Warriors allowed a season-low 54 points among conference games and prevented the Penmen from hitting a single three-pointer.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 64 | Southern NH 54
Records: Merrimack (11-9, 7-8 NE-10) | Southern NH (10-13, 4-12 NE-10)
Location: SNHU Fieldfouse | Manchester, N.H.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook
With the victory, Merrimack moves back into third place in the Northeast Division, which is crucial because the top-three teams in the division secure a bye into the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Championship. The fourth-place finisher hosts the fifth-place finisher from the Southwest Division in a first-round game.
1) Stonehill (18-2, 14-2)
2) Franklin Pierce (12-7, 10-6)
3) Merrimack (11-9, 7-8)
4) Assumption (12-9, 7-9)
5) Saint Anselm (7-13, 5-10)
6) Southern NH (10-13, 4-12)
7) Saint Michael's (9-12, 4-12)
8) Bentley (8-13, 3-12)
What They Said
Head coach Monique LeBlanc: "This game was definitely a battle from start to finish. SNHU is a great defensive team, and made things difficult for us on offense at times. We found a way to overcome our mistakes and secure a win, and that's what is important."
How It Happened
The first half began with the Penmen scoring 10 of the first 14 points of the game. With 15:43 remaining in the half, Sara Ryan hit a layup in transition to make it 10-4, causing Merrimack to burn its first timeout of the game.
Out of the timeout, the Warriors worked their way back into the game. With the clock ticking under 11 minutes to go in the half, senior guard Chloe Rothman (Newton, Mass.) drilled a contested three-pointer to make it 14-13 in favor of the Penmen. Junior forward Amanda Hoover (Columbus, Ohio) hit one-of-two from the free-throw line on the next possession to make it a 14-14 game. A layup from senior forward Aria Johnson (Los Osos, Calif.) gave the Warriors their first lead of the game, 18-16, at the 7:38 mark.
Over the next couple minutes the teams would exchange turnovers, then a Caitlyn Garger (Hicksville, N.Y.) three-pointer, her 11th of the season, made it a 21-19 game in favor of Merrimack with 5:11 left in the half. With the game ticking under three minutes left in the half, Rothman snatched a steal and drove all the way to give Merrimack a one-point lead, 26-25.
After Ryan hit a layup to tie the game at 29 with less than a minute to go, Rothman took the ball the other way and hit a two-pointer of her own to give the Warriors a 31-29 lead heading into halftime. Rothman finished the first 20 minutes with 13 points on six-of-10 shooting. Johnson had 10 points, missing on only one of her six field-goal attempts.
The second half started slowly, as the two squads combined for just four points over the first three minutes. At the 15:56 mark, junior guard Tia Scott (New York, N.Y.) drove the lane, hit a layup and was fouled. Scott hit the ensuing free throw and the Warriors had their largest lead at that point, 36-31. With 13:21 to go, Allison Wagner (Center Conway, N.H.) hit a three-pointer and pushed Merrimack's advantage to 39-35.
With the clock dipping below 12 minutes left , Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) scored five straight points to make it 44-37 and causing SNHU to take a timeout. Over the next 4:46 of game time, the lead for Merrimack never was greater than seven points, but never dipped below five. At the 5:28 mark Vic Wiseman, the Penmen's leading scorer, hit a shot to make it a three-point game, but Cassi Amenta (Lynn, Mass.) answered on the Warrior next possession to make it 50-45 with 4:57 to play.
The Warriors pushed their lead to eight point on a Scott layup, 55-47, with 3:47 left in the game. Over the final minutes, Merrimack iced the game at the free-throw line. Rothman and Wagner combined to sing five-of-six free throws over the final two minutes to ice the game and give Merrimack a 64-54 victory.
Inside The Numbers
- For the fourth consecutive game, Rothman finished in double figures with 23 points. She now have finished in double digits in six of the last seven contests overall. She entered today's game leading the Warriors in scoring and was eighth in the conferece
- Johnson finished one board shy of a double-double, posting totals of 16 points and nine rebounds. In the first matchup between the two squads, Johnson finished with 20 points and 10 caroms. She shot eight-of-13 from the field, improving on a field-goal percentage that ranks her first in the NE-10
- For the first time this season, the Warriors did not allow their opponents to hit a three-point basket. The Navy and Gold forced the Penmen in 21 turnovers, scoring 21 points off of SNHU's miscues
- The Penmen had three players finish in double figures, but outside of those three scorers, the remaining seven players who took the floor combined to shoot just five-of-19 from the field
Up Next
Merrimack returns home on Tuesday for a crucial divisional matchup against Bentley at 5:30 p.m. For ticket information, please click here!
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