Women's Basketball Dominates Defensively in 45-37 Win vs. Holy Family Saturday

12/31/2016 12:00:00 AM

Links: Box Score | Game Highlights | Davis-Stewart Interview

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team limited the visiting Holy Family University Tigers to just 15 second-half points on 6-of-31 shooting, clamping down defensively to secure a 45-37 non-conference victory on Saturday afternoon from Hammel Court, closing out the non-conference portion of its 2016-17 season.

The Basics
Score: Merrimack 45, Holy Family 37
Records: Merrimack (5-7) | Holy Family (3-9)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.

The Turning Point:
The Warriors' effort on the defensive end of the floor proved vital, particularly in the second half. The Navy and Gold forced the Tigers into scoring droughts of at last four minutes during both the third and fourth quarters. During those stretches, the visitors missed all nine of their shots and committed five turnovers.

How It Happened (First Quarter)

• Merrimack got off to a scorching start, netting the game's first six points over the first 2:18 of game action, prompting a Holy Family timeout. Senior point guard My'Asia Alston (Cohoes, N.Y.) was involved in all three buckets, scoring four points and assisting on the other.
• The run extended to 13 unanswered points that included a banked-in triple from sophomore Lindsay Werner (Groton, Mass.). The Warriors held the Tigers scoreless over the first 5:32 of the game before the visitors sank a 3-pointer for their first points of the game
• From there Holy Family turned things around, ending the frame on a 14-3 run to pull within three points, 17-14, at the end of 10 minutes

How It Happened (Second Quarter)

• After combining to score 31 points in the first, the defenses controlled the second quarter. After Holy Family pulled within one, sophomores Lexi Martin (Franklin, Mass.) and Karlee Alves (Ellington, Conn.) hit field goals to push the Navy and Gold ahead by five, 21-16, at the midway point of the frame
• The Warriors scored twice in the final 75 seconds to maintain its advantage. Senior Savannah Johnson (Palmdale, Calif.) sank a baseline jumper while Werner nailed her second triple for the half's final field goal

How It Happened (Third Quarter)

• Similar to the first, the Warriors held the Tigers on another prolonged scoring drought to start the third. The visitors did not make a bucket over the first 4:19 of the quarter. During that time, Merrimack increased its lead to nine, 31-22, on four points from freshman Denia Davis-Stewart (Dorchester, Mass.)
• Holy Family closed the gap once again, using a 5-1 run to pull within three points with one minute to play in the third.

How It Happened (Fourth Quarter)

• After the team's combined to score just seven points over the first seven minutes of the quarter, Davis-Stewart ripped down an offensive board and converted the put back to make it a 39-35 game with 2:50 remaining in the regulation
• Johnson added three points down the stretch to join her frontcourt teammate with a double-double, and her offensive rebound prevented any further comeback from the Tigers to win the game

Inside The Numbers

• Davis-Stewart registered her first-ever double-double, totaling 10 points and 11 rebounds. In the second half alone she scored eights points and pulled down all but one of her boards on the day She added a game-high three rejections, the seventh time this season that Davis-Stewart has recorded at least three blocks in a game
• Johnson started alongside Davis-Stewart in the frontcourt, scoring a team-high 11 points while tying the rookie forward with 11 caroms. The senior captain now has three double-doubles on the season, all of which have come in the last four games
• The Warriors outscored the Tigers by 12 in paint, 20-8, while scoring seven second-chance points. Holy Family did not convert on any of its second-chance opportunities despite 10 offensive rebounds
• Overall, Merrimack limited Holy Family to 24.5 percent shooting. Removing 3-point field goals, the Tigers made just 8-of-41 from inside the 3-point arc (19.5 percent)

Up Next
The Warriors begin cross-divisional play on Wednesday night when the Navy and Gold host the University of New Haven at Hammel Court for a 5:30 p.m. contest at Hammel Court.  

--

For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.