Merrimack Ekes Out Nail-Biter, Defeats Southern N.H. 59-58

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.- The Merrimack women’s basketball team pulled out a 59-58 victory over Southern N.H. Wednesday evening at the Volpe Gym. The Warriors improved to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the Northeast-10 with the win. The Penmen fell to 2-5 on the year and 1-5 in league play with the loss.

Sophomore Kelly Schatzlein (Tolland, Conn.) posted a career-high 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting to lead Merrimack. Genn Roy (Granby, Mass.) was the only other Warrior in double-figures with 10 points.

The Warriors exploded out to a 6-0 lead to open the game on three-consecutive layups by Taneka Brown (Lynn, Mass.) and Schatzlein. Merrimack closed out the first half on a 13-3 run to hold a 38-23 advantage at the break. Schatzlein was 5-for-5 from the field in the opening period while Roy connected on 4-of-5 shooting. Both players tallied 10 points to lead the home team.

As a team, the Warriors owned a 63% field goal percentage in the first half and knocked down half of their attempts from downtown.

The Penmen clawed their way back into the game and drew the score to 47-45 with eight minutes remaining. Layups by Schatzlein and Brown prevented the visitors from gaining the lead.

Southern N.H. knotted the score at 53-53 with 4:30 left to play.

Merrimack carried a four-point lead into the final two minutes of regulation. With just 60 seconds left to play, the Warriors still owned a four-point edge. Magdala Johnson cut the Penmen’s deficit to one point after she converted three free throws.

Southern N.H. gathered possession after Katie Ganser (Needham, Mass.) missed the front end of a one-and-one. Johnson had her jumper from the left wing bounce off the iron as time expired as Merrimack held on for its third victory of the year.

The Warriors finished with a field goal percentage of 49% and a 33% shooting percentage from behind the arc. Southern N.H. heated up in the second half and shot 44% from the floor for the game.

The Penmen owned the rebound advantage on the night, pulling down four more boards then the host team.

“A great first half performance by our team tonight,” said head coach Helen Williams. “We came out of the gates with high intensity. We need to work on bringing that same level of intensity into the second half.“

Merrimack returns to the hardwood December 11 as it travels to local rival UMass Lowell. The Warriors and River Hawks will meet in the first-ever NCAA Division II basketball game played Tsongas Arena. Merrimack Athletics is sponsoring a fan bus traveling to Tsongas Arena for both games. To register for the trip, email athletics@merrimack.edu. The trip includes food, drink, admission to the game and transportation.

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