| Matchup |
Merrimack (9-5, 2-5 NE10) at
Southern Connecticut (9-5, 3-3 NE10) |
| Date/Time |
Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019 (5:30 p.m.) |
| Venue |
New Haven, Conn. // Moore Field House |
| Multimedia |
Live Stats // Watch // Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball program will begin the Southwest Division portion of its 2018-19 slate on Wednesday evening when the Warriors visit Southern Connecticut State University for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off at the Moore Field House. Both programs own 9-5 overall records, with the Owls' Northeast-10 Conference record sitting at 3-3 and the Warriors' at 2-5.
Five Things to Know:
- Merrimack eclipsed the 90-point plateau for the third time this season in Saturday's 30-point win (91-61) at Bridgeport. Sophomore Alyssa Casey dominated, totaling a career-best 34 points on eight 3-pointers to lead Merrimack to victory. Casey fell two points and one triple shy of equaling Merrimack's single-game records for both scoring and 3-pointers made. The Warriors hit a season-high 18 treys, the most for the program this century. The win also gave Merrimack a perfect 7-0 non-conference record
- The seven non-conference wins is a new high for eighth-year head coach Monique LeBlanc. She increased her career wins total to 98, inching close to becoming the third coach in school history with 100 career wins
- Casey's monster performance increasing her scoring average to 15.0 points per game, moving into 10th in the conference. Teammate senior Lindsay Werner leads the team and ranks eighth in the NE10 with an average of 16.6 points per contest. Sophomore Mayson Kimball (11.9) and junior Denia Davis-Stewart (10.8) also are averaging in double figures
- Davis-Stewart is just two games removed from her first-ever 20-20 performance. The starting center totaled 23 points and 20 rebounds at Mercy, both of which were career highs. She ranks fifth in the league in rebounding (9.8/gm), and paces the NE10 with 4.1 blocks per game. Senior Karlee Alves has registered a conference-leading 9.0 assists and 3.7 steals per game; she leads the nation in the former and ranks sixth in the latter
- Southern Connecticut has won four of its last six games entering Wednesday. The Owls employ the nation's top rebounder in Kiana Steinauer, averaging over 16 boards per contest. She's no slouch offensively either, averaging 17.4 points per game. Recently, the junior totaled 33 points and 31 rebounds in a game against Concordia (N.Y.) – the second 30-30 game in NCAA Division II history
Series History:
- Wednesday will be the 25th all-time meeting between Merrimack and Southern Connecticut, with the Owls owning the series advantage (15-9)
- In the entirety of LeBlanc's tenure, the road team has won the annual matchup between the Warriors and Owls. Overall, Merrimack has a five-game winning streak at the Moore Field House dating back to 2008-09
- In the Warriors' last trip to New Haven (2016-17), senior Lexi Martin tied for the team lead with 16 points in a 65-60 victory
Scouting the Opposition
| Merrimack (9-5, 2-5 NE10) |
Stat Category |
Southern Conn. (9-5, 3-3 NE10) |
| 75.2 |
Points Per Game |
66.9 |
| 63.7 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
62.0 |
| .424 |
Field Goal Percentage |
.392 |
| .371 |
Three-Point FG Percentage |
.337 |
| 42.0 |
Rebounds Per Game |
36.8 |
| Lindsay Werner (16.6 ppg) |
Points Leader |
Jessica Fressle (18.4 ppg) |
| Denia Davis-Stewart (9.8 rpg) |
Rebounds Leader |
Kiana Steinauer (16.2 rpg) |
| Karlee Alves (9.0 apg) |
Assists Leader |
Imani Wheeler (4.6 apg) |
| Alves (3.7 spg) |
Steals Leader |
Steinauer (2.2 spg) |
| Davis-Stewart (4.1 bpg) |
Blocks Leader |
Steinauer (0.5 bpg) |
Up Next:
Merrimack returns home for the first time in nearly a month, hosting Pace University on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. from Hammel Court.
