Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team nearly overcame a 13-point halftime deficit on Wednesday afternoon against league-leading Mount St. Mary's, but the Warriors fell by a 59-58 margin in Northeast Conference (NEC) action from Hammel Court. Merrimack outscored Mount St. Mary's by 10 points in the second half, and had the score tied at five different instances in the final quarter.
Freshman
Teneisia Brown scored six points in the fourth quarter, tying the game at each point that she scored in the final 10 minutes. The game was even, 57-57, with under one minute to play when Mount St. Mary's forward Rebecca Lee scored to make it a 59-57 game. Senior
Mayson Kimball made it a one-point game with a free throw, and had a chance to win the game with a shot from in close on the final possession, but the attempt missed to give the visitors the win.
Kimball led all scorers with 21 points and eight rebounds, shooting 8-of-10 at the free throw line while adding three steals. Lee netted 20 points to lead Mount's effort. The visitors shot 43 percent from the field compared to 28 percent for the hosts. The Warriors had a significant edge at the free throw line, making 21-of-25 from the line compared to just five attempts for the Mountaineers.
The Basics
Score: Mount St. Mary's 59,
Merrimack 58
Records: Merrimack (3-10, 3-10 NEC) | Mount St. Mary's (13-4, 12-2 NEC)
Location: North Andover, Mass. | Hammel Court
Rapid Recap
- Mount jumped out to a 15-4 advantage seven minutes into the game. Buckets from sophomore Alana Fursman and freshman Teneisia Brown scored to bring the deficit down to six points, but the hosts answered back to lead by 10, 20-10, in the final minute. The Mountaineers took a 20-12 advantage to the second quarter
- A 9-0 run to start the second created a 17-point disparity (29-12) in favor of Mount St. Mary's. With the score at 31-14, the Warriors scored eight straight points to climb within nine with 2:31 remaining. Fursman and Kimball each hit triples during the run. The team's traded points down the stretch of the quarter, with the Mount owning an 11-point lead at halftime
- The Mountaineers ballooned their lead to 17 again to start the third quarter. Merrimack took it to them from there, however, using the final six-plus minutes of the third quarter to go on 13-4 run to make it a 49-41 contest after 30 minutes.
- That run extended to a 21-4 stretch when the Warriors netted eight straight points to start the final frame. Junior Kate Mager's 3-pointer at the 6:41 mark of the fourth tied the game for the first time, 49-49, as the hosts held the Mountaineers without a point for the first 4:15 of the quarter. The team's alternated points over the next five possessions, until Kimball hit a layup with 3:38 to play that put Merrimack ahead, 55-53. Mount scored the next four points to take the lead back, however, and hit the go-ahead field goal to break a 57-57 deadlock with 54 seconds to play
Notes and Numbers
- Kimball set career highs in shot attempts (24), free throws made (8) and free throw attempts (10). She totaled her fourth 20-point game of the season and has now scored in double figures in five straight games
- Merrimack set a season high with 21 free throws made and attempted the second most at the line this year with 25
- Brown's eight points off the bench set a new career high for the first-year forward
- Mount controlled the game from the paint, totaling 38 points from the interior
Up Next
Merrimack travels to Sacred Heart next week for its final two games of the season.
