NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College Women's basketball team fought until the final buzzer in a thriller from Hammel Court against Long Island University. The Warriors were down 10 points at the start of the fourth quarter, but brought things all the way back to even at 59 before the Sharks hit the winner with one second remaining on the clock.
The Warriors got important performances across the board, but it all started with sophomore,
Teneisia Brown, who led all Merrimack players with 19 points and nine rebounds. Junior,
Jayme DeCesare, put up yet another complete game with 11 clutch points to go a long with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Senior,
Kate Mager, gave the Warriors 10 points including a huge three that brought Merrimack within two points with just over a minute to go.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 59, Long Island University 61
Records: Merrimack (8-16, 6-10 NEC) Long Island University (8-16, 8-8 NEC)
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Rapid Recap
- Merrimack started this one out with one of their best quarters of the season as they went on to score 20 points in the opening frame. The Warriors shot the lights out going 9-19 which was good enough for 47.4% from the field. Within the first couple of minutes Merrimack got some important baskets from Brown and graduate student, Paige McCormick, who truly got things going on the offensive glass. Fellow graduate student, Mayson Kimball, got herself going in this one after she stole a Shark pass and sprinted down the floor for two to tie the game at 10. The Warriors then went on a run that was finished by DeCesare with a minute to go. The Johnston, R.I. native got a terrific pass from junior, Kaylee Thomas, and had nothing but time to nail the shot from beyond the arch.
- To start the second quarter, DeCesare picked up right where she left off by taking the ball and flying past the defense on her way to a smooth lay in. On the following possession, McCormick set up a screen, slipped off of it, and Kimball found her wide open as she nailed the long range two. In her return to game action, sophomore, Amaya Staton, got a pass in the paint where she spun past her defender for the bucket to take the lead back for Merrimack. The Sharks then got a bucket right before the half as they took a 31-30 lead to the locker room.
- The second half started just as the first did with a textbook move from Brown who maneuvered her way through the defense and got a shot to go. Moments later, Mager got a pass on the fast break from DeCesare and hit nothing but nylon to extend the Warrior lead to 35-31. After some back-and-forth basketball, Merrimack completed a full team play from start to finish. Kimball dove to the floor to collect a steal on one end and then got the ball to DeCesare. She then whipped a pass up the floor to Mager who found her way to the rack and finished. The Sharks then went on their best run of the game taking a 47-40 lead to the final ten minutes, setting up for a crazy finish from Hammel Court.
- The quarter started just how the Sharks wanted as they nailed a three to take a ten-point lead, that seemed to be insurmountable. The Warriors had different plans though as they then went on a 10-2 run to draw within two points of the Sharks with just under six minutes remaining. LIU then went on another run that saw their lead stretched to seven in what seemed like an instant. The Warriors were down, but certainly not out of this one as they then took the momentum back with their defense getting the turnovers and stops, they needed in crunch time. With just over a minute to go, DeCesare floated a cross court pass to Mager who took a step and nailed a three to bring Merrimack to within two points yet again. Things were different this time around though as Mager swiped in on defense and stole the ball from the Sharks setting up an opportunity to tie this one at 59. The Warriors did exactly that when they found Brown in isolation. She took the matchup head on and bulled her way to basket and got the shot to go to send Hammel Court into a frenzy. Unfortunately though, with just 1.0 seconds left on the clock LIU sunk a shot to win this one 61-59.
Up Next
Merrimack will return to action this Saturday, February 26
th at 1:00 PM against St. Francis Brooklyn on senior day!
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
