SCSU Outlasts Women's Basketball Tuesday, 63-55
Links: Highlights | Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball held the visiting Southern Connecticut State Owls to four third-quarter points to take a second-half lead, but the Owls responded with a 24-point final frame to defeat the Warriors, 63-55, on Tuesday afternoon on Education Day from Hammel Court.
The Basics
Score: Southern CT 63, Merrimack 55
Records: Merrimack (7-9, 3-7 NE-10) | Southern CT (12-5, 5-4 NE-10)
Location: North Andover, Mass. | Hammel Court
How It Happened
Students from the Weatherbee School, UP Academy Oliver and Guilmette Middle School attended the afternoon as part of Education Day on campus, totaling over 200 local students in attendance for the matchup between the Warriors and Owls.
The team's battled in a back-and-forth opening quarter, with the Owls leading by three after the first ten minutes. With 5:28 to play in the first, senior guard Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) hit back-to-back buckets to tie the score at 10-all. Senior forward Amanda Hoover (Columbus, Ohio) made 1-of-2 from the line to give the Warriors their first lead, 15-14, with 2:31 left. The Owls ended the frame on a 6-2 spurt to take a 20-17 lead into the second.
Freshman Hannah Neild (Litchfield, N.H.) started the second quarter with Merrimack's first five points to square the half at 22-22. The Owls responded with a 7-0 run, but a My'Asia Alston (Cohoes, N.Y.) runner cut it to a three-point game, 29-26, at the midway point of the quarter. From there the Navy and Gold only scored two points the rest of the half, allowing SCSU to lead by seven entering the break.
Merrimack worked its way back into the game thanks to a strong defensive performance in the third quarter. The Owls shot just 2-of-10 from the field and committed seven turnovers in the frame, scoring just four points. The Warriors ended the third on a 6-0 run, including four straight points from senior Tia Scott (Harlem, N.Y.), only trailing by one after 30 minutes, 39-38.
The Navy and Gold scored the first five points of the fourth to take their first lead since the opening quarter, including a jumper from Lexi Martin (Franklin, Mass.) to make it 43-39 Merrimack with 8:27 to play. From there the Owls went on an 11-0 run to take the lead for good, 50-43, helped by six straight points from Taylor McLaughlin.
Scott finished the half with 10 points, playing all 20 minutes and shooting 3-of-5 from the field, notching 11 boards as well to collect her third straight double-double. The Owls improved to 5-4 in league play, while the Warriors fell to 3-7.
Inside The Numbers
- Scott fell three assists shy of her third consecutive triple-double after recording back-to-back triples last week en route to her selection as NE-10 Player of the Week. She finished as the lone Warrior in double figures with 14 points, playing all 40 minutes of action
- Merrimack limited SCSU to just 16.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc, with McLaughlin hitting the only two treys of the afternoon for the Owls.
- Martin played in 10 minutes between the third and fourth quarters after missing the previous three games due to injury, scoring four crucial points that got Merrimack back in the game
- Southern won despite the nation's leading rebounder, Jackie Beathea, only playing 10 minutes due to foul trouble. McLaughlin picked up the slack, recording 16 points and nine boards in 29 minutes off the bench
Up Next
The Warriors head to Syracuse, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon for a 12 p.m. tipoff with the Le Moyne College Dolphins.
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