Women’s Basketball Goes for Sixth Straight Win Wednesday at Franklin Pierce

Matchup	Merrimack (16-7, 9-7 NE10) at Franklin Pierce (4-17, 2-14 NE10)
Date/Time	Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019 // 5:30 p.m.
Venue	The Fieldhouse // Rindge, N.H.
Multimedia	Live Stats // Watch // Twitter // Instagram

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team will go for its sixth straight victory on Wednesday evening as well as a season sweep of Franklin Pierce when the Warriors visit the Ravens for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off in Rindge, N.H. With a victory, Merrimack will post the program's longest winning streak in 14 years at six straight games, and set the longest unbeaten run for head coach Monique LeBlanc.  

Five Things to Know:

• The Warriors extended their winning streak to five on Saturday with a 74-55 triumph over Saint Anselm, equaling the most points scored against the Hawks' division-leading defense this season. Senior Lindsay Werner scored her 1,000^th career point in the game, finishing the day with 21 points and a career-best eight rebounds. Junior Denia Davis-Stewart added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds
• Merrimack picked up its 16^th win of the year, the second most for the program under LeBlanc and second most for the program since 2004-05. The Warriors have won five straight and 12 of their last 15 to move within one game of third place in the Northeast Division
• The Warriors eclipsed 200 total 3-pointers made with nine makes on Saturday, increasing its NE10 lead to 203. The program ranks 13^th nationwide in triples, boasting four individuals with at least 38 makes: Werner (56), freshman Kate Mager (49), sophomore Alyssa Casey (40) and sophomore Mayson Kimball (38)
• Merrimack's three-point attack and offense as a whole is facilitated by senior point guard Karlee Alves who begins the week with a nation-leading 191 total assists. Alves is also among the country's best in steals (72) and steals per game (3.13). Davis-Stewart is also one of the top defenders in the country, leading the NE10 and ranking third nationwide with a career-best 85 total blocks. Merrimack's starting center leads the team with 10 double-doubles
• Franklin Pierce has dropped its first two games since returning to divisional action; the Ravens enter Sunday with a three-game losing streak overall. The Ravens went 2-5 in the Southwest portion of its NE10 slate, picking up its first two league wins of the year over Saint Rose and New Haven

Record Watch

• Career 3-Pointers – Werner finished her afternoon on Saturday with 1,014 career points. With seven points on Wednesday she'll move into 20^th in school history in scoring, and will crack the top 15 by reaching 1,138 career points. She is also 14 triples shy of setting a new school record for career 3-pointers
• Single-Season Assists – After Alves set a new single-season record last week, she's now closing in on the 200-assist mark and a spot in the NE10 record book. The Ellington, Conn. native needs to reach 214 helpers to post one of the 15-best single-season assist totals in league annals
• Team Records – After already breaking the single-season 3-points made record, the Warriors are also on pace to break the single-season percentage record of .347 set during the 2003-04 campaign. The current group of Warriors are making their triples at a rate of 36.8 percent

February Flashback:

• Merrimack handled Franklin Pierce, 71-58, in its first meeting of the year. The Warriors led by 23 points after three quarters of play
• Casey and Kimball combined for 39 points, 14 rebounds and 16 of the team's 30 made field goals on the day. Alves posted one of her season's highest assist totals, dishing out 13 compared to just two turnovers
• The Warriors have won five straight over the Ravens; Franklin Pierce owns the advantage in the all-time series history, 20-14

Scouting the Opposition

Merrimack (16-7, 9-7 NE10)	Stat Category	Franklin Pierce (4-17, 2-14 NE10)
74.3	Points Per Game	58.8
63.3	Points Allowed Per Game	68.7
.436	Field Goal Percentage	.379
.368	Three-Point FG Percentage	.310
40.0	Rebounds Per Game	45.5
Lindsay Werner (15.8 ppg­)	Points Leader	Sophia Holmes (12.2 ppg)
Denia Davis-Stewart (10.6 rpg)	Rebounds Leader	Izzy Lipinski (7.7 rpg)
Karlee Alves (8.3 apg)	Assists Leader	Lisa Sulejmani (3.4 apg)
Alves (3.1 spg)	Steals Leader	Lipinski (1.7 spg)
Davis-Stewart (3.7 bpg)	Blocks Leader	Lipinski (1.1 bpg)

 
Up Next:
The Warriors will travel to Southern New Hampshire on Saturday to take on the Penmen. Merrimack and SNHU begin the week tied for the fourth in the Northeast Division; Southern New Hampshire currently owns the tiebreaker via its win earlier this year at Hammel Court. The contest will be broadcast nationally via Fox College Sports.