Senior Emily Rousseau led all scorers with 25 points to go with nine rebounds and two assists. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Colon double-double leads Warriors to victory
Merrimack shot 52.9-percent (9-for-17) from the field after regulation, including 3-for-5 (60%) from three-point range, while converting 9-of-12 (75%) free-throw attempts over the three overtime sessions. Stonehill finished shooting 34.6-percent (28-for-81) from the field, including 6-for-24 (25%) from deep, and converted just 65.4% (17-for-26) from the line for the night. The Skyhawks shot 20.7% (6-for-29) in overtime, including 2-for-11 (18.2%) from three. Merrimack turned Stonehill's 19 turnovers into a 21-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Senior Tiffany Colon (Lawrence, Mass./Lawrence) led Merrimack with a double-double effort of 20 points and ten rebounds (five offensive), while classmate Sarah Benischek (Shrub Oak, N.Y./Lakeland) contributed 17 points, aided by 7-for-8 shooting at the line, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Junior Gennifer Roy (Granby, Mass./Granby) added 11 points, four rebounds (three offensive), three assists and three steals, while sophomore Kelly Schatzlein (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) rounded out the Warriors double-figure scorers with 11 points, four boards and two assists.
Senior Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) led Stonehill with a game-high 25 points, nine rebounds and two assists. She made all eight free-throw attempts to extend her streak of free-throws made this season to 21-straight. Classmate Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H./New Hampton Prep) finished with 13 points and five rebounds, while junior Tania Williams (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward-Melville) added 11 points and eight rebounds. Junior Cori O'Kane (Pocasset, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) chipped in with nine points, a team-high ten rebounds and four assists before fouling out.
Junior Tania Williams added 11 points and eight rebounds. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Merrimack led the entire third overtime, scoring the first four points of the frame after a Benischek layup and free-throws from junior Valerie Avebe (Yaounde, Cameroon). Stonehill drew within two (73-71) after a pair of free-throws by freshman Asia Ewing (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) with 3:23 left, but Colon drained a three-pointer and then followed two more Ewing free-throws with a layup before Roy drilled a three to put the Warriors up eight (81-73) with 1:14 remaining. McWhirter hit a three to pull the Skyhawks back within five (81-76), but Benischek drained four-straight free-throws to extend the lead to nine (85-76) with 29-seconds to go and seal the win.
Stonehill rallied from a ten point (46-36) deficit with 9:14 left in regulation to force overtime. The Skyhawks used a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to draw even (50-50) after two Rousseau free-throws with 4:25 to play. She had eight points in all during that stretch and O'Kane added a three-pointer and sophomore Anna Griffin (Fairfax, Va./W.T. Woodson) had a three-point play to help spark the rally.
The game went back and forth the rest of the way with Colon knotting the score at 56-56 with 1:45 left and neither team scored from there as Colon missed a layup at the buzzer to force overtime. Merrimack never trailed in the first overtime as a three-pointer from senior Chelsea Shea (South Burlington, Vt./Burlington) put the Warriors up three (61-58) with 3:05 to play. The lead was still three (63-60) after two Benischek free-throws with two minutes to go, before Stonehill forced a second extra frame as O'Kane hit one of two at the line and Williams followed up a miss with a jumper at the horn.
Stonehill held a three point lead (68-65) after two Rousseau free-throws midway through the second overtime, but Avebe scored back-to-back baskets to put Merrimack back in front (69-68) with 2:04 remaining. Ewing split a pair of free-throws with 1:02 to go that knotted the score for the 12th time in the game, but Rousseau had her layup with three-seconds left blocked to force the third and final extra period.
Stonehill (4-2, 0-2 NE-10) is back in action on Sunday when it hosts Saint Michael's College for an NE-10 matchup in Merkert Gymnasium at 1:30 p.m. Merrimack (2-2, 1-1 NE-10) is off until next Wednesday when it visits 14th-ranked Franklin Pierce University at 5:30 p.m.