Posted: Feb 17, 2015
Warriors handle Owls in Connecticut…
- Aria Johnson (25 points, 8 rebounds; 11-13 FG) and Tia Scott (career-highs of 12 assists and 10 rebounds) sparked Merrimack to a Northeast-10 crossover win at Southern Connecticut, 68-64, pulling the Warriors even with Assumption for 3rd place in the Northeast Division. MC took the lead for good with a 12-2 close to the first half (MC, 31-28) and opened the second frame in the same vein, with a 12-3 spell. The overall 24-5 run handed Merrimack a 42-32 lead (17:34) and they never lost it. The Owls came within six points a few times but couldn’t get over the hump. Caitlyn Garger’s basket with 3:25left proved MC’s last score (68-57) and while the Owls managed the final seven points to create the smallest span since Merrimack’s late first half burst, it didn’t alter the outcome. Madison Ward (13 points) and Ashley Weissmann (10 points) added support for the Merrimack attack as they shot 48% from the floor and secured ten more rebounds (45-35) than their hosts. Danielle Powell (14 points, 8 boards), Maria Weselyj (13 points) and Jackie Beathea (10 points, 9 caroms) led the way for SCSU but they shot only 37% from the field. The Owls did have an edge at the line (SCSU 15-20; MC 5-10 FT) but that was not enough. Despite the defeat, Southern Connecticut holds a two-game lead (loss column) over LeMoyne and AIC for 3rd place in the NE-10’s Southwest Division.
High-octane Ravens win in Old Westbury…
- Career-highs from Kara Charette (30 points; 8-11 FG, 14-18 FT) and Jemma Thacker (20 points; 6-8 3FG) led a hot-shooting Franklin Pierce to a non-league win at NYIT, 97-86. The Ravens blistered the nets from all areas (61% FG, 10-20 3FG and 25-32 FT), dominated the boards (38-25) and led from start-to-finish in this one. A 9-0 spurt (with two treys from Thacker) put FPU ahead by double digits early (19-9, 12:49) and they led by as many as 17 points in the first half en route to a 46-35 edge at the break. The closest the Bears came after that was 76-71 (6:58), yet that was immediately followed by a 7-0 Raven flurry (83-71, 5:35), which put NYIT comeback hopes to rest. Dyamond Gardner (16 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) flirted with a triple-double for FPU while Natalie Bastian (11 points) and Jessica Hurd (10 points) also chipped in with double figures. Julie Williams (19 points), Shanice Allen (15 points) and Nina Vukosavljevic (15 points) topped five double digit scorers for the Bears but their shooting (41% FG, 8-24 3FG, 26-35 FT) could not quite match FPU’s accuracy.