Garger's Career Night Headlines 76-68 Victory for Women's Basketball at Assumption
Links: Box Score | Caitlyn Garger Interview
WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior Caitlyn Garger (Hicksville, N.Y.) netted a career-high 26 points, including 16 in the second half, as the Merrimack College women's basketball team downed the Assumption College Greyhounds, 76-68, on Wednesday evening from Laska Gymnasium. With the win, Merrimack remains tied in fifth place in the Northeast Division with two games remaining.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 76, Assumption 68
Records: Merrimack (12-13, 8-11 NE-10) | Assumption (14-10, 10-9 NE-10)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook:
The top five teams in the Northeast Division advance to the NE-10 Championship, with the fifth seed playing the fourth seed out of the Southwest in the opening round. Merrimack holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the SNHU after sweeping the season series on Saturday.
1) Bentley (15-4)
2) Saint Anselm (12-7)
t3) Assumption (10-9)
t3) Franklin Pierce (10-9)
t5) Stonehill (8-11)
t5) Merrimack (8-11)
t5) Southern New Hampshire (8-11)
8) Saint Michael's (4-15)
How It Happened
Merrimack started the game strong, scoring 10 points over the game's first five minutes while shooting 4-of-7 from the field. Garger totaled five points during the stretch, including her first triple of the night. Garger hit her second three of the quarter to make it 13-8 with 2:30 remaining, but the Greyhounds ended the frame on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 13-all after 10 minutes.
Allison Stoddard hit a three pointer three minutes into the second quarter to give the hosts their first lead of the night, 21-18. Assumption's lead grew to five points, 25-20, before a 7-0 run from the Warriors. Freshman Hannah Neild (Litchfield, N.H.) hit a three to tie the game before a 16-footer from Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) got Merrimack the lead back.
The Greyhounds responded with seven unanswered of their own, prompting the Navy and Gold to burn their first timeout of the game. Out of the timeout, Garger hit a jumper to halt the Assumption run. The half ended with a 32-29 advantage for Assumption. Garger ended the first 20 minutes with 10 points to lead the Warriors.
Garger continued her hot shooting with a triple and a 15-footer to start the third quarter, giving Merrimack a 34-32 lead. From there the squad's exchanged runs with Assumption scoring seven unanswered followed by a 11-4 spurt from the Warriors that made it 45-43 Merrimack. Senior forward Amanda Hoover (Columbus, Ohio) ended the run with an offensive rebound, dishing it off to Neild for a left-handed lay-in.
With less than two minutes to play in the third, My'Asia Alston (Cohoes, N.Y.) answered a Greyhounds triple with a step-back three of her own to tie the game at 48-all. Free throws from Scott and a lay-in from Ward gave Merrimack a 52-48 lead entering the fourth. The Warriors scored 23 third-quarter points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field.
Merrimack hit five of its first six shots in the fourth, as a three from Weissmann made it 63-57 Warriors at the 6:52 mark. On the Warriors' next possession, Garger sunk her season-high fourth triple to push their advantage to nine, 66-57. Garger's make started a string of seven straight points for the Hicksville native, as the Warriors were up by nine, 70-61, at the 4:30 mark.
Senior Tia Scott (Harlem, N.Y.) and Alston combined for four free throws in the final minute to clinch the contest for Merrimack. With Stonehill and SNHU both winning, the Warriors, Skyhawks and Penmen all sit tied for fifth in the division at 8-11 with two games remaining in the regular season
Inside The Numbers
- After consecutive nine-point games, Garger reached double figures with 10 after the first 20 minutes. She followed that up with a 16-point second half, hitting a season high four three-pointers. The third-year player finished 11-of-21 from the field, setting a career high in field goals made
- Scott's impressive senior campaign continued with a 14-point, 10-assist outing. She picked up her fifth double-double of the season, and her sixth game with at least 10 helpers. Additionally, she only committed two turnovers in 39 minutes of action
- More on Tia: Her 10 assists gives her 483 for her career, needing two more to move into second on Merrimack's all-time list. She needs 17 over the final two games to become just the second player in program history to reach 500 career helpers
- The Warriors tied their season high with seven three-pointers, connecting on a season-best 53.8 percent of their attempts. Four different players recorded triples for Merrimack
- Second-half success: The Navy and Gold scored 47 second-half points, setting a new season high for scoring in the second stanza. The Warriors shot sixty-three percent from the field, making 17-of-27 of their shots
Up Next
The Warriors return home on Saturday to celebrate Senior Day against Franklin Pierce at 1 p.m. Garger, Hoover, Scott, Madison Ward (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Weissmann are set to be honored during the pregame festivities.
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