LEXINGTON, K.Y. – In one of, if not the biggest game in program history, The Merrimack College women's basketball team traveled to the University of Kentucky to take on the Wildcats for the first time ever. The Warriors battled from start to finish staying within five points of the Wildcats going into halftime. Unfortunately, Merrimack fell short at the end by a score of 90-56.
The Warriors were once again led by graduate student,
Mayson Kimball, who shot a team high 20 shots to help keep up with the Wildcats from beginning to end. The Webster, N.H. native ended the afternoon with 17 points. To help Kimball achieve what she did, junior,
Jayme DeCesare, was facilitating her teammates all day long. She ended the afternoon with seven assists, coming only two shy of her career high.
Merrimack wasn't intimidated by the bright lights of the SEC and got contributions from top to bottom. The Warriors shot 80% from the free throw line, while also getting 24 bench points which kept them in it until the Wildcats ran away with it in the final ten minutes.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 56, Kentucky 90
Records: Merrimack (2-5, 0-0 NEC) | Kentucky #16 (6-1)
Location: Lexington, K.Y.
Rapid Recap
- After an eventful weekend of team bonding activities, the Warriors started out the game on the right foot when sophomore, Teneisia Brown, whipped a pass from the paint out to senior, Kate Mager, who nailed a three. Following up her assist, Brown went to work herself and drove the ball to the hoop where she laid a nice layup home for two. After coach Morrone used her first timeout, senior, Carla Balague, took an open look from beyond the arch and swished it in to snag the momentum right back for Merrimack before the end of the quarter.
- To start the second quarter both teams traded shots until the Warriors went on a 10-2 run to ignite the comeback. It all started with a textbook three from Mager after an excellent pass from DeCesare. To follow that up, Kimball scored five unanswered points to draw the Warriors to within seven. To close out the quarter, junior, Diamond Christian, stole the ball off of an in bounds play and then scooped the ball up and in the net, to have Merrimack feeling good heading into the locker room.
- Christian's effort at the end of the first half transferred over to the second as the Warriors came out hot. After giving up a couple quick shots to Kentucky, Merrimack went on a 7-0 run with another five straight points from Kimball. The first of which came off a great fake shot from Mager who then passed it over to an open Kimball who wasn't going to miss. Then after a key defensive stop, Kimball took the ball up the court and laid the ball in for two. Then to cap off the run, Balague rebounded the ball on the offensive boards, made a move and drained a layup to cut the Wildcat lead to three points. To end the half, the Wildcats went on a bit of a run to make the Warriors work for this one in the final frame.
- In the last ten minutes, the Warriors had some good chances, but inevitably the Wildcats had a little bit more fuel left in the tank, but Merrimack wouldn't go down without a fight. After a Kimball defensive rebound, the ball was pushed up the court and the Warriors set up their offense. DeCesare got the ball and pushed it into the paint drawing three defenders to her. She then sent a nice feed to graduate student, Paige McCormick, who sunk the mid-range jumper. It was too little too late at the end though, as Merrimack fell to Kentucky.
Up Next
Merrimack returns to the comfort of North Andover, but they won't play in just any game. They will play the first ever women's basketball game in Lawler Arena on Thursday, December 9
th at 7 PM.
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
