Women's Basketball Falls in NEC Opener to St. Francis Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team fell in its Northeast Conference (NEC) opener to St. Francis Brooklyn on Monday night 66-59. Jayme DeCesare scored a team-high 17 points after going 5-9 from three. Amaya Staton had a career-high 15 points, as well as seven rebounds. Warrior leading scorer Marissa Hamilton had 12 points and nine rebounds. Alana Fursman had 10 points off the bench in the loss.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 59, St. Francis Brooklyn 66
Records: Merrimack (1-10) | St. Francis Brooklyn (2-11)
Location: Pratt Institute ARC

Rapid Recap

• DeCesare hit a three to get the scoring going for Merrimack. The Terriers then added 11 straight points to go up by eight. DeCesare then hit her second three, followed by a Staton jumper, cutting the lead to three. Both teams went back and forth for a number of minutes trading buckets. DeCesare then hit her third three of the quarter to get the game down to two points before the end of the first quarter. The second quarter started with a five-point St. Francis Brooklyn run, putting them up seven. DeCesare found the bottom of the net with her fourth three of the first half cutting it to four. A Terrier three, followed by a DeCesare three kept it at four with seven minutes to play. St. Francis Brooklyn added six points to go up by 10. A Kaylee Thomas three stopped the run. The Terriers then added six more points to go up 13. Fursman scored on a layup before the end of the half to cut the lead to 11 points at the half.
• Both teams traded points for the first couple of minutes in the third. Hamilton then scored three point of her own to get the disadvantage to 13. A three by St. Francis Brooklyn gave them a 16 point lead with four minutes to play. A five-point run with 27 seconds left in the quarter gave the Warriors a 12-point deficit heading into the fourth. A jumper by Staton to start the fourth cut the lead down to 10. The lead turned to 15 with just over five minutes to play in the game. Merrimack then responded by going on a 12-point run getting the lead to a one possession game with a minute thirty to play. A jumper and good free throw shooting down the stretch gave the Terriers a seven-point win.

 
Notes and Numbers

• The Warriors forced 17 turnovers and scored 16 points off the turnovers.
• Both teams scored 26 points in the paint.
• The Warriors got 12 points from bench players.

 
Up Next
Merrimack gets back to action on Friday when the squad heads down to Wagner College. Game time is set for 3 p.m.