Thomas Scores Career-High in Win Over Saint Francis (PA)

 
LORETTO, PA – The Merrimack College women's basketball won its second Northeast Conference matchup in a row on Saturday night against Saint Francis University (PA). Kaylee Thomas scored a career-high 22 points in the win after knocking down four threes and eight free throws. Marissa Hamilton scored 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench. Diamond Christian added 12 points and four rebounds in the victory.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 67, Saint Francis (PA) 65
Records: Merrimack (7-14, 5-5 NEC) | Saint Francis (PA) (5-17, 4-6 NEC)
Location: Maurice Strokes Center

Rapid Recap

• The Warriors jumped out to a quick four-point lead after back-to-back buckets from Amaya Staton. After five points from the Red Flash, Merrimack went on a 10-point run to go up by nine. Saint Francis stopped the run with a three. Hamilton then responded with a three of her own to put Merrimack up nine. Christian added a three to make the advantage 12. The Red Flash cut the deficit to six heading into the second quarter. Saint Francis opened the quarter with five points, making the lead just one. The game became tied at 21 with seven minutes to go until halftime. Saint Francis then went on an 11-point run to go up 11. Alana Fursman stopped the run with a three. The Warriors got the lead down to two points with 10 seconds to go before halftime. A last second layup from the Red Flash would put them up four heading into the second half.
• Staton started the third quarter with a three, cutting the lead to one. Christian tied the game at 36 with eight minutes to go in the quarter. Threes from Jayme DeCesare and Thomas gave Merrimack a six-point lead. Another Thomas three and a Hamilton layup make the lead nine with three minutes left in the quarter. Thomas and Christian added threes before the end of the quarter to give the Warriors a 10-point lead heading into the fourth. Three minutes into the final quarter, the Red Flash cut the lead down to four. A Thomas layup with four and a half minutes left gave Merrimack a five-point lead. On multiple occasions Saint Francis would get the lead down to one point, but the Warriors would always respond with a score. Merrimack would end up winning the game by two points.

 Notes and Numbers

• Thomas also had five assists in the win.
• The Warriors shot 55% from long range.
• Merrimack shot 71% from the free throw line.

 Up Next
The Warriors play one more on the road against Stonehill College on Thursday night. Game time is set for 6 p.m.