NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College Women's basketball team celebrated the Class of 2022 prior to today's game and paid tribute to the graduating class with a complete performance up and down the lineup. The Warriors never trailed in this one and pulled off the upset victory 76-66.
The Warriors got solid outings across the board, but sophomore,
Teneisia Brown, stole the show for Merrimack scoring a game and career high 22 points to go a long with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior guard,
Jayme DeCesare, has played her best basketball down the stretch this season. She put up another complete performance in the stat sheet today with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists to achieve her third double-double of the season. Graduate student,
Mayson Kimball, had a much-needed bounce back game this afternoon as she capped off the contest with 16 points, three blocks, two steals, and two rebounds. Senior,
Carla Balague, finished her senior night with a big day putting up 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 76, St. Francis Brooklyn 66
Records: Merrimack (9-16, 7-10 NEC) St. Francis Brooklyn (16-9, 12-5 NEC)
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Rapid Recap
- Before tip off the Athletic Department acknowledged the Class of 2022. Carla Balague, Mayson Kimball, Kate Mager, Paige McCormick, and Autumn Truesdale have sacrificed countless hours for the program and we wish them luck in their future endeavors.
- The first quarter was yet another master class from the Warriors are they have scored a combined 44 points in the opening frame over the last two games. The scoring started in the perfect way on senior day as Balague let a three fly that found nothing but nylon to give Merrimack some early momentum. On the following offensive possession, McCormick shook off her defender and let a jumper go while getting fouled. She then hit the free throw to complete the three-point play. Moments later, the shot clock was ticking down and the ball found its way to DeCesare who chucked up a three from deep that was pure to force the Terriers to call timeout. After a big block on the defensive glass by Kimball, the Warriors turned it up offensively and Merrimack got the ball to their best scorer, Mager. The New City, N.Y. native hit nothing but the bottom of the net from beyond the arch to put the Warriors up 14-4. After some back-and-forth basketball from both sides, the clocked ticked down to just under a minute to play in the first. That's where freshman, Ava Owens, collected the ball and dished it out to Kimball who was wide open for the triple to conclude the opening ten minutes.
- In the second quarter the Warriors didn't take their foot off the gas as they scored 14 more points. The quarter started with Owens making a tough move to the paint where she maneuvered past her defender to drop it in for two. The next time the Warriors had the ball, Brown made a textbook move inside fighting through three defenders before dropping the shot through the hoop. The Terriers then went on a bit of a run, closing in on the Warrior lead, but junior, Kaylee Thomas, was set on keeping the Merrimack advantage. The Chelmsford, Mass. native received a pass from Kimball in the corner and the three was pure to secure the lead. Before the two teams headed to the locker room though, Balague caught the Terriers sleeping as she picked her defenders pocket for the steal and took it down the floor for two as time expired in the first half.
- After regrouping in the locker room, the third quarter began with the Warriors finding Brown left and right. The sophomore forward hit two impressive shots within the first three minutes to help the Warriors carry over their first half momentum. With just over five minutes to play in the third, Mager dipped into her bag of tricks making several moves to create separation from her defender before she nailed the pull up jumper. After getting a stop on the defensive end, the Warriors looked to turn it up offensively and they did exactly that when the ball found Kimball. The Webster, N.H. native shimmied her way to the paint and received a pass that was on the money from Owens and went up and finished strong at the hoop to force another Terrier timeout. Kimball hit another triple as the clock ticked down in the third to give the Warriors a 59-47 lead heading into the final ten minutes.
- The fourth quarter saw the Warriors get impressive play from all of the Class of 2022 as Kimball and Balague led the way. Putting up 17 more points capped off an incredible afternoon from Hammel Court as the Warriors came away with their most complete effort of the season winning 76-66 over the number two ranked team in the conference.
Up Next
The Warriors conclude their 2021-22 season next Thursday March, 3
rd as they look for the season sweep over conference foe, Wagner College.
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