| Matchup |
Merrimack (18-9, 11-9 NE10) at
Saint Michael's (11-14, 7-13 NE10) |
| Date/Time |
Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019 // 5:30 p.m. |
| Venue |
Ross Sports Center // Colchester, Vt. |
| Multimedia |
Live Stats // Watch // Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Needing a win to have a chance at hosting the opening round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Friday night, the Merrimack College women's basketball team heads on the road for its regular season finale to face Saint Michael's College. Tip-off from the Ross Sports Center in Colchester, Vt. is set for 5:30 p.m. tomorrow night.
Merrimack needs a win coupled with a Southern New Hampshire loss to secure a fourth-place finish in the Northeast Division, which would see the Warriors host Southern Connecticut on Friday night to open postseason play. A Penmen victory or a Warriors loss will send Merrimack on the road in the opening round, playing either New Haven or American International on Friday.
The Warriors will also enter the week as the ninth-ranked program in the NCAA Division II East Region poll, with an updated poll set to be released on Wednesday. Last week the Warriors topped sixth-ranked Stonehill and fell to second-ranked Bentley. The top-eight in the poll at season's end advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Five Things to Know:
- Merrimack celebrated Senior Day on Saturday, honoring the careers of seniors Karlee Alves, Lexi Martin and Lindsay Werner. The trio of Warriors have 59 wins during their time on campus, the most for a senior class in 12 years. They also have a chance to be a part of just the fourth 20-win team in school history with two more victories this season
- The program's 18 wins to date is a new career best for head coach Monique LeBlanc, and the most of the Warriors since their second of two consecutive trips to the Final Four during the 2004-05 campaign. The Warriors at least 20 games in every season from 2002-05 (three straight years).
- Merrimack will still enter the last regular season game as the NE10's top offense, averaging a league-best 73.5 points per game. The Warriors also pace the conference with a team-record 229 3-pointers, a total that ranks among the top 15 nationwide. Merrimack boasts two of the top six and four of the top 18 3-point shooters in the conference in terms of makes: Werner leads the team with 61 while freshman Kate Mager ranks sixth with 57. She has the most triples for a NE10 rookie since the 2012-13 season
- Junior Denia Davis-Stewart and Alves have maintained their national leads in multiple areas. Davis-Stewart ranks among the top 10 in the country in both total blocks (94) and blocks per game (3.48) while is second in total assists (211) and third with 7.8 assists per game. Both players in lead the NE10 in all those categories. Additionally, Davis-Stewart has upped her game throughout the conference season, totaling 11 of her 13 double-doubles against league opponents and averaging over 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game
- Saint Michael's will be playing in its final game on Tuesday, entering the tilt with 11 total wins and seven NE10 triumphs. The Purple Knights have a 4-3 record this month, and are led by senior Emily Ferreri who averages 12.9 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per contest
Record Watch
- All-Time Scoring – Werner currently sits 16th in school history in scoring (1.087 points), and needs 49 points over the final few games of the season to finish her career inside the top 15 all-time. She also sits on 184 career 3-pointers, needing five more to tie the school record
- Single-Season Assists – Alves enters the season finale among the nation's leaders with 211 assists. The floor general needs eight more to move into the top 15 in NE10 history in single-season assists
- Team Records – In addition to a potential new single-season scoring mark, Merrimack is hitting 3-pointers at a school-record pace. The Warriors are currently making 35.7 percent of their treys, which is on track to break the 03-04 percentage (34.7) as the best in school history
February Flashback:
- Merrimack won the first matchup by 18 points at Hammel Court. The Warriors increased their five-point halftime lead to 14 by the then of the third quarter, and never trailed in the second half
- Three Warriors scored in double figures led by 19 points from sophomore Mayson Kimball. Davis-Stewart posted a double-double of 17 points and 12 boards while Alves added 10 assists
- The Purple Knights were led by a game-high 26 points for Nicole Andersen on 10-of-20 shooting and six 3-pointers
Scouting the Opposition
| Merrimack (18-9, 11-9 NE10) |
Stat Category |
Saint Michael's (11-14, 7-13 NE10) |
| 73.5 |
Points Per Game |
62.3 |
| 64.2 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
67.3 |
| .433 |
Field Goal Percentage |
.384 |
| .357 |
Three-Point FG Percentage |
.327 |
| 39.4 |
Rebounds Per Game |
36.7 |
| Lindsay Werner (16.2 ppg) |
Points Leader |
Emily Ferreri (12.9 ppg) |
| Denia Davis-Stewart (10.7 rpg) |
Rebounds Leader |
Taylor Miller (6.8 rpg) |
| Karlee Alves (7.8 apg) |
Assists Leader |
Brianna Purcell (5.0 apg) |
| Alves (2.9 spg) |
Steals Leader |
Purcell (1.9 spg) |
| Davis-Stewart (3.5 bpg) |
Blocks Leader |
Miller (2.2 bpg) |
Up Next:
Merrimack will play on Friday in the NE10 First Round, and pending Tuesday's results will either host the game as the Northeast Division's fourth seed or travel to the No. 4 seed from the Southwest Division as the Northeast's fifth seed.
