Women's Basketball Celebrates Senior Day with 69-51 Victory over Franklin Pierce Saturday
Links: Box Score | Ashley Weissmann Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team honored its five-player senior class, Caitlyn Garger (Hicksville, N.Y.), Amanda Hoover (Columbus, Ohio), Tia Scott (Harlem, N.Y.), Madison Ward (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.), in style with a 69-51 win on Saturday from Hammel Court to extend its season-long winning streak to four games. The win keeps the Warriors in the postseason hunt, setting up a win-and-they're-in scenario on Tuesday at division-leading Bentley.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 69, Franklin Pierce 51
Records: Merrimack (13-13, 9-11 NE-10) | Franklin Pierce (13-12, 10-10 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. A win against Bentley on Tuesday will send the Warriors into the postseason.
1) Bentley (15-5)
2) Saint Anselm (13-7)
3) Assumption (11-9)
4) Franklin Pierce (10-10)
t5) Stonehill (9-11)
t5) Merrimack (9-11)
7) Southern New Hampshire (8-12)
8) Saint Michael's (4-16)
How It Happened
Follow the pregame ceremonies, a back-and-forth first-quarter ensued. A layup from Savannah Johnson (Palmdale, Calif.) gave the Warriors their their first lead at 4-2 less than three minutes into the game. Neither team led by more than two points over the entire quarter, but the Navy and Gold ended the frame with three straight free throws to take a 13-12 advantage into the second.
With the score tied at 17 at the 6:41 mark of the second, Weissmann hit her first of four three-pointers of the afternoon to get the lead back. The shot started an 8-0 run for Merrimack that ended with another triple from Garger to make the score 25-17. Free throws from Scott made it a 10-point game, 29-19, but a 6-0 spurt from the Ravens cut the deficit to four points.
The Warriors responded with six unanswered of their own, including two more jumpers from Garger, but a triple from the Ravens with 18 seconds remaining ushered on halftime with Merrimack leading by seven, 35-28. Garger and Ward combined for 16 points, while freshman Lexi Martin (Franklin, Mass.) contributed six off the bench.
Defensively, the Navy and Gold clamped down in the third, holding their visitors to just nine points and zero over the final 4:37 of the frame. Dyamond Gardner's free throw made it a three-point deficit for Pierce, 40-37, but the Warriors ended the quarter on a 10-0 run. My'Asia Alston (Cohoes, N.Y.) netted the first three points of the run, Hannah Neild (Litchfield, N.H.) connected on a trey and Hoover scored the final four points of the quarter.
Weissmann headlined the final quarter, scoring nine of the Warriors' 19 points in the fourth. She made two more three-pointers, including one with 4:07 to play that made it a 62-44 contest. In the final 20 seconds, Merrimack was able to remove its senior from the contest for the final time, bringing on a standing ovation from the home faithful as the Warriors won by a 69-51 final.
Inside The Numbers
- Weissmann finished with 15 points, scoring in double figures for the 11th time this season. After only making two triples in her previous six games, she broke out of her shooting slump by making 4-of-5, setting a new season-high in three-pointers made in the process
- With her assist at the 6:48 mark of the first quarter, Scott passed former teammate Chloe Rothman (2011-15) on Merrimack's all-time assist list with her 485th career helper. She also picked up her 170th assist of the season with that helper, breaking the single-season program record.
- More on Tia: She finished the day with 10 dimes, needing just seven more to become the second player in program history to record 500 career assists
- The Warriors won the rebounding battle by 17 (44-27). Four players totaled at least six boards, with three tying for the team high with seven
- The Navy and Gold shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc for the second straight game, the first time Merrimack's accomplished that feat this season
- Merrimack's bench dominated the Ravens', totaling 28 points. Alston led that group with 11 on the day, making 5-of-6 from the charity stripe
Up Next
The Warriors conclude the season on Tuesday evening at Bentley, with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. The Falcons have already clinched the regular-season crown in the Northeast Division.
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