NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College Women's Basketball team returned to the comfort of Hammel court when they took on the Fairleigh Dickinson University on Thursday afternoon. The Warriors fought to the final buzzer, but eventually fell to the Knights by a score of 76-65 in double overtime.
Merrimack ended up with three players who finished with double-digits in points as junior,
Jayme DeCesare finished with a game high 17 points while collecting seven assists. Fellow junior,
Diamond Christian, was second on the team in scoring with 12 points to go a long with five rebounds. Graduate student,
Mayson Kimball, finished the game with a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds to bring her 14 points shy of 1000 career points with the Warriors.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 65, New Hampshire 76
Records: Merrimack (4-7, 2-1 NEC) | Fairleigh Dickinson (6-7, 3-0 NEC)
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Rapid Recap
- The opening frame saw the Warriors getting off to a scorching start as the Warriors outscored the Knights 21-13. Merrimack dominated the paint to begin the game collecting 10 rebounds, eight of which were defensive which allowed for the offense to get going. After a FDU miss graduate student, Paige McCormick, snagged a defensive rebound and started the offense for the Warriors. The ball found its way to senior, Carla Balague, who drove to the basket and laid it in for two points. Merrimack then went on a mini run as the ball found its way to DeCesare who dished a sweet feed out to Kimball who buried a jumper. Then on the defensive side, Kimball pulled down the rebound and started the transition by getting the ball back to DeCesare. The Johnston, R.I. native then slung a pass to McCormick who scooped it up and in to extend the Warrior lead. After some back and forth scoring, freshman, Ava Owens, got the ball after a set play – found a lane – and nailed a layup for her first career points as a Warrior.
- The second quarter saw both teams pick up the pace defensively as there was only 15 total points scored from both sides. (10-5 MC) After a FDU three, the Warriors found their first points of the quarter when Christian made a nice move and slipped through the defense for two points. After that the Warriors got the ball to Balague who shook off her defender and finished at the basket for two. At the end of the first half, Christian took the ball and squared up a defender. She then found an open DeCesare who buried the corner shot from beyond the arch just before time expired in the first half.
- After some much-needed rest, both teams came out of the locker room looking to take control of the game and the Warriors started out hot with back-to-back buckets. Balague started things off with a layup and then after a stop on the defensive end and a McCormick rebound, Merrimack took it to FDU. Christian attacked the hoop and found an open alley for two. After a run by the Knights, they seemed to have all the momentum, but then Kimball brought it back for the Warriors with a bucket of her own to end the quarter.
- In the fourth, the Knights brought things back, but the Warriors still battled their way to the final buzzer. The quarter started with another three for DeCesare who ended the night going 5-8 from beyond the arch. Then after another Knights run, Kimball was once again the one to put an end to the run. The Webster, N.H. native received a pass from DeCesare and nailed buried the three to put the Warriors up three with just under two minutes left. The Knights then got three points of their own to send the game to overtime
- In the first overtime, both sides went back and forth trading shots, before the buzzer sounded sending this one to double overtime. In double overtime, freshman, Antoinette Okoh, saw her first career minutes as a Warrior and made an immediate impact. The Brockton, Mass. native got a solid defensive rebound and then on the other end nailed her first career field goal. Unfortunately though, her efforts weren't enough as the knights came out on top in double overtime.
Up Next
The Warriors welcome the Central Connecticut Blue Devils to Hammel Court this Saturday, January 8
th at 1 PM.
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