TAMPA, Fla. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team lost a road game to the AAC preseason favorite, the University of South Florida Bulls.
The Basics
Score: South Florida 62,
Merrimack 43
Records: South Florida (5-5),
Merrimack (4-3)
Rapid Recap
In the first quarter of this early tip, the Warriors defense was flying all over the court. Merrimack was forcing turnovers and making the Bulls fire up contested shots. On the offensive end, the Warriors struggled, but the defense kept them right in it. The Warriors held the lead late in the first before a South Florida burst to go into the second quarter trailing 15-9. In the second quarter the defense held strong yet again for Merrimack as they kept a potent USF attack to just 13 points. The Warriors trailed by 11 heading into the halftime break with
Rose Caso leading the Warriors in scoring.
In the second half, the Bulls would be able to find the bottom of the net on numerous possessions while the Warriors struggled to find their offensive rhythm. South Florida took control in the third with Merrimack going into the final quarter down 51-26. In the fourth quarter
Paloma Garcia came alive scoring nine of the first 11 fourth quarter points by either team going on her own 9-2 run. She would force a Bulls timeout, cutting the deficit to 18 points at 53-35. The final frame finished with back to back three's from
Cadence Johnson as the Warriors four game win streak would come to an end at the hands of South Florida.
Notes and Numbers
- Paloma Garcia paced all Merrimack scorers with 11 points
- Rose Caso scored eight points going a perfect 6/6 from the line
- Thalia Shepard added five points and pulled down five rebounds
Up Next
The Warriors will play away from home court once again when they square off with Providence College on December 14
th at 12:00 PM.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
