NEW ROCHELLE, NY - Merrimack College Women's basketball takes on the Iona Gaels this Wednesday. Tip off from New Rochelle is at 11 a.m.
Cooking in 2026
The Warriors are rolling in the New Year, winning five straight games. The Merrimack defense has kept opponents under 60 points in four of the five victories. In their last game, the Warriors used two 20 point performances from Lydia Melaschenko and Madison Roman to defeat the Siena Saints by 17. The 82 points scored by the Warriors is the most against a MAAC opponent since joining the conference in 2024.
Who to Watch
Madison Roman tallied her fifth straight double-double last Saturday in the win over Siena. She scored 21 and came down with 13 rebounds. Roman put up a double-double in the teams last home game against Marist, posting 14 points and 13 rebounds. Roman powered her way to a 21-point game with a season high 17 rebounds against the Peacocks last week. She had 12 points and 11 rebounds against Rider and she exploded for a 20-point and 14-rebound double-double against Mount St. Mary's. The Connecticut native shattered her season high in steals tallying five against the Mountaineers.
Lydia Melaschenko has hit 19 3-pointers in her last five games. In the teams last contest against Siena, Melaschenko went off from six 3-pointers made and led the team to a 17 point win. Melaschenko electrified the Warriors second half domination with four three pointers in the win over Saint Peter's two weeks ago. Her 10 points at Rider marked her eighth double-figure scoring game of the season, and her fifth consecutive. Melaschenko hit 50% of her shots against Fairfield scoring 13. In the Warriors contest against High Point, Melaschenko erupted for seven 3-pointers coming just shy of the school record. The 21 points at High Point was her new career high. In her last five games, Melaschenko has made 19 three pointers.
Grad Year Balling
Oralye Kiefer has been a force in the paint for the Warriors shooting just shy of 50% during the season. Oralye Kiefer scored 15 points last week in their dominant win over Siena. She added six rebounds and a season high five assists. She scored 12 points against Rider and had tallied her first double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Mount St. Mary's. She averaged 13.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game in the month of December.
Heating Up
Paloma Garcia scored 12 points and came down with eight rebounds on Thursday, leading the team to a comeback win over Marist. In last week's contest against Rider, Garcia went off for a career-high 21 points, shooting 7-of-13 (54%) from the field.
