Fourth-Quarter Comeback Fuels Women's Basketball in 80-77 Overtime Win at New Haven
Links: Box Score | Garger/Scott Interview
WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Senior point guard Tia Scott (New York, N.Y.) finished with her first career triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds as the Merrimack College women's basketball team erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit and won its Northeast-10 Conference matchup with the University of New Haven, 80-77, in overtime on Wednesday afternoon from Chargers Gymnasium.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 80, New Haven 77
Records: Merrimack (7-7, 3-5 NE-10) | New Haven (6-7, 2-5 NE-10)
Location: West Haven, Conn. | Chargers Gymnasiumn
How It Happened
Fast forward to the end of regulation as the Warriors erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to have a chance to tie the game in their final possession. Senior Caitlyn Garger (Hicksville, N.Y.) curled around a screen and hit a 12-footer to tie the contest at 67-all, and the Chargers missed a shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Scott scored eight of Merrimack's 13 points, while Garger contributed with a three-pointer as well. The Warriors never trailed in the extra session, only seeing a tied score on two occasions. Garger's triple came at the 2:04 mark, erasing a 71-71 tie and giving the Navy and Gold the lead for good. Scott was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, including four makes in the final 30 seconds.
The fourth quarter began poorly for the Warriors, as the Chargers built an 11-point lead, but Merrimack fought back. Ward and junior forward Savannah Johnson (Palmdale, Calif.) hit consecutive layups followed by a three from Garger and the deficit fell to four points, 59-55, with six minutes remaining.
Trailing by four points, Garger made two straight shots to tie it up at 61-all with 4:25 left in the final frame. New Haven took the lead again at 65-63, but freshman Hannah Neild (Litchfield, N.H.) connected on a mid-range jumper to even the score once again, preceding Garger's game-tying bucket in the waning seconds of regulation.
The Chargers hosted their annual Class at the Court event, inviting nearly 500 students from the West Haven community to campus for the game between Merrimack and New Haven.
The Navy and Gold used a late first-quarter run to take their first lead of the day. Senior Madison Ward (Binghamton, N.Y.) hit consecutive to layups to make it a one-point game, and Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) followed with a right-wing trey to make it 11-9 in favor of the Warriors with just 30 seconds left.. The Navy and Gold entered the second frame with a 12-11 lead.
The momentum continued into the second quarter, as the Warriors scored eight of the first 12 points of the quarter, prompting New Haven to burn a timeout trailing by five, 20-15, with 5:44 left in the half. The Warriors held their largest advantage at 27-20, but the Chargers ended the second quarter on a 6-0 run to make it a one-point game at halftime. Ward led Merrimack with nine first-half points.
Both offenses found a rhythm in the third quarter. Junior guard My'Asia Alston (Cohoes, N.Y.) hit two three-pointers over the first four minutes after not scoring in the opening half and the Warriors led 39-34 at the 6:18 mark. The Chargers answered to five unanswered to knot the game at 41-all, and ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 51-46 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
Inside The Numbers
- Back-and-forth from the get-go, Wednesday afternoon featured 10 ties and five lead changes. The contest was squared on three occasions in overtime, while Merrimack won despite never leading in the fourth quarter
- After a career filled with impressive performances, Scott put forth possibly her best effort against New Haven. She finished with her first career triple-double, registering her 10th rebound and assist over the final five minutes. The final 25 minutes were the most impressive, as she registered 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the second half and overtime
- More on Tia: Her triple-double is first by a player in the East Region in nearly one calendar. The last time a player tripled up was on January 10th on last season, when Queens (N.Y.) guard Madison Rowland notched 20 points, 10 boards and 10 helpers
- Caitlyn's back: Garger played in 31 minutes off the bench, totaling 14 points and eight rebounds while shooting 6-of-10 from the field in only her second game this season
- Ward's effort should not go unnoticed, as she tied Scott for the team-high with 17 points and also corralled eight boards
- Merrimack played in its first overtime game since December of last season, when the Warriors went on the road to defeat Bentley when the Falcons were the reigning national champions
Up Next
Merrimack hits the road once against on Saturday when the Warriors take Pace University on Saturday afternoon in Pleasantville, N.Y. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
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