FAIFIELD, C.T. - Merrimack College Women's Basketball takes on Fairfield this Sunday to open up conference play.
Who to Watch
In seven of her last eight games, Mia Fiore has posted double figure point totals. Fiore has totaled over 15+ in her last four of five games. She finished just shy of a double-double against New Hampshire with nine rebounds to go with the 15 points. Through eight games, she is shooting just under 50 percent from the field. The Rhode Island Native leads the Warriors in minutes played with 32 minutes per game. In their come from behind victory against Dartmouth, Fiore led the team with 16 points and shot from over 50% from the field. Fiore exploded for a career high against Bryant where she posted 24 points, shooting 10-14 (71%) from the field.
In the last two Warrior matchups, Lydia Melaschenko has hit 4 three pointers. The game against Brown marked her fifth of the season with 10+ points. In the Warriors contest against High Point, Melaschenko erupted for 7 three pointers coming just shy of program history. The 21 points is her new career high. In her last six games, Melaschenko has made 17 three pointers. Melaschenko kicked off her 2025 season with a then career high 18 points. The guard led the Warriors last season with a .356 make percentage from behind the arc, splashing 48 threes. Melaschenko finished 7th in the MAAC with that impressive three-point percentage.
In the Warriors game against Bryant, Madison Roman tallied a career and team high 26 points, shooting 9-15 (.600) from the field. Roman came down with 10 rebounds for her second-straight double-double. Roman tallied her first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds and 12 points against Northeastern. She started her season with a 10 rebound, 9 point, and 5 assist line in just 17 minutes against UMass Boston. Named MAAC preseason all-conference second team, the forward averaged 8.7 pts and 8.7 rebounds per game last season. Her 269 rebounds last season put her 2nd in the conference.
Manion Magic
Graduate Student Molly Manion hit national headlines two weeks ago after her clutch three point buzzer beater against Darmouth. With 2.2 seconds left on the clock, Mia Fiore imbounded a perfect pass to Manion who nailed the three pointer for the win. Manion scored 13 on the night shooting 3-4 from beyond the arc.
Happy Holidays Oralye!
Grad student Oralye Kiefer has seen an uptick in playing time logging over 20 minutes in each of her last four games. Kiefer has set season highs in points in four straight games. In the month of December Kiefer has found her stride averaging 14 ppg and 5.3 rpg. She logged a season high 30 minutes against Brown last Tuesday scoring 19 (7-14 FG). She also had four blocked shots.
Be sure to follow along on ESPN+ this Sunday. Tip off from Leo D. Mahoney Arena is at 2 PM.
