Fall Semester’s Final Divisional Game Awaits Women’s Basketball Tuesday at #5/2 Bentley

Matchup	Merrimack (6-4, 2-4 NE10) at #5/2 Bentley (10-0, 6-0 NE10)
Date/Time	Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018 (6 p.m.)
Venue	Waltham, Mass. // Dana Center (Tickets)
Multimedia	Live Stats // Watch // Twitter // Instagram

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball program brings its two-game winning streak on the road Tuesday evening when the Warriors face undefeated and No. 5/2 Bentley University at 6 p.m. from the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass. The contest marks the final Northeast Division contest for both the Warriors and Falcons. Merrimack is coming off a 2-0 week against Franklin Pierce and Saint Michael's, while the Falcons have won all of their games this season by at least nine points with nine of their 10 victories coming by double digits.  

Five Things to Know:

• Two of the top-three scoring offenses in the conference will meet on Tuesday. Merrimack ranks third in the NE10 with an average of 72.9 points per game while the Falcons pace the league by scoring nearly 82 points per contest. Bentley ranks among the top-20 nationwide in scoring
• The matchup also pits the two best 3-point shooting programs in the league against each other. Merrimack has canned 85 triples compared to Bentley's 90. Both team's are among the nation's leaders in treys. Merrimack started Saturday's action ranked 17^th nationwide, and should vault in the rankings following a season-best 14 3-pointers against Saint Michael's – the most made in a game for the program since 2013
• Merrimack also boasts two of the top individual defenders in the conference in junior Denia Davis-Stewart and senior Karlee Alves. The former leads the league with 4.2 blocks per game, which is among the top five nationwide. Her 203 career rejections already rank as the 11^th most in NE10 history. Alves is the conference's leader in steals per contest, averaging over four per contest and totaling 41 through 10 games
• Offensively, Merrimack's leaders in points per game including senior Lindsay Werner (16.0) along with sophomores Alyssa Casey (14.7) and Mayson Kimball (12.5). All three players are shooting at least 33.3 percent from beyond the arc while Werner and freshman Kate Mager are tied for the team lead with 21 three-point field goals. Alves facilitates the operation, dishing out a team and league leading 87 helpers
• Head coach Monique LeBlanc is nearing her 100^th career win at Merrimack, entering Tuesday night's contest with 95 career wins. She is aiming to become the third coach in program history to reach the century mark, joining Debbie Cogan (1986-1999) and Ann McInerney (1999-2005)

Series History:

• Bentley – one of the premier women's basketball programs in the country – has controlled the all-time series, winning 66 of 79 contests
• The Falcons won both of last year's game by double digits. Two years ago, however, Merrimack played Bentley tightly in the regular season, falling twice by a combined nine points
• Merrimack's last victory in the series came in overtime during the 2014-15 campaign, a 93-89 triumph at the Dana Center

Scouting the Opposition

Merrimack (6-4, 2-4 NE10)	Stat Category	#5/2 Bentley (8-1, 5-1 NE10)
72.9	Points Per Game	81.9
62.8	Points Allowed Per Game	58.4
.408	Field Goal Percentage	.459
.344	Three-Point FG Percentage	.443
42.3	Rebounds Per Game	45.0
Lindsey Werner (16.0 ppg)	Points Leader	Katie Meriggioli (13.6)
Denia Davis-Stewart (8.9 rpg)	Rebounds Leader	Victoria Lux (7.1)
Karlee Alves (8.7 apg)	Assists Leader	Amy McConnell (4.1)
Alves (4.1 spg)	Steals Leader	McConnell (1.4)
Davis-Stewart (4.2 bpg)	Blocks Leader	Lux (0.9)

 
Up Next:
Merrimack's final home game until the turn of the calendar year occurs on Wednesday, Dec. 19, when the Warriors welcome the defending East Coast Conference champs Saint Thomas Aquinas to Hammel Court for a 5 p.m. tip-off.