Women’s Basketball Hands Sacred Heart First NEC Defeat

FAIRFIELD, CONN. – The Merrimack College women's basketball beat Sacred Heart University on Friday night 66-64. Jayme DeCesare had a team-high 14 points after knocking down five shots from the field, including three threes. She also had seven rebounds. Ava Owens scored a career-high 13 points. She also had seven rebounds in the win. Graduate student Makenzie Bray had 12 points. Diamond Christian was the final Warrior in double figures with 11 points. She also had seven rebounds in the win.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 66, Sacred Heart 64
Records: Merrimack (3-13, 2-4 NEC) | Sacred Heart (7-10, 4-1 NEC)
Location: Pitt Center

Rapid Recap

• Merrimack started the game off on a seven-point run, capped off by a Christian three. The Pioneers came back to cut the lead down to three. The Warriors then scored seven straight to go up by 10. With two minutes to go in the first quarter, Fursman hit a jumper to send Merrimack up 12. The Warriors held Sacred Heart to just nine first quarter points. Amaya Staton scored on a layup to get the scoring going in the second, giving Merrimack its biggest lead of the game at 15. The Pioneers battled back getting the deficit to five with five minutes to play before halftime. Alana Fursman and Christian combined for four points to go back up by nine. Sacred Heart added six to go down one possession with under a minute to play. Staton hit a jumper to give the Warriors a five-point halftime advantage.
• Merrimack came out of the gates hot once again, going on a six-point run to open the third quarter. Both teams went back and forth during a good chunk of the third quarter. A jumper by Bray with a minute in a half to play in the frame gave the Warriors a nine-point lead. DeCesare found the bottom of the net from deep to give Merrimack a 12-point lead heading into the final quarter. The Pioneers cut the advantage in half with six and a half minutes left in the game. Bray hit a jumper to put the Warriors back up eight. Merrimack found themselves up 13 points with a little under four minutes left in the game. With 20 seconds remaining Sacred Heart was down just two points after scoring 11 points in a row. DeCesare was fouled and hit one free throw to put the Warriors up three. A layup by the Pioneers made the lead just one with three seconds left. A free throw by Owens with a second left gave the Warriors a two-point win.  

 
Notes and Numbers

• The Warriors grabbed 43 rebounds, compared to Sacred Heart who had 33.
• DeCesare is averaging 11.1 points per game, which is the best of her Merrimack career.
• The Warriors held the Pioneers to 10% from three.

 
Up Next
Merrimack gets back to action on Saturday afternoon against the University of Hartford. Game time is set for 3 p.m.