Women’s Basketball Falls at NCAA Division I Merrimack
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team dropped a midweek exhibition at NCAA Division I's Merrimack 82-50 Wednesday evening at Hammel Court.
Stevie Orton (Gilford, N.H.) posted 12 points and seven rebounds while Kyra Fleharty (Lewiston, Mont.) also netted 12 points off the bench. Jenn Burnham (West Valley City, Utah) tallied eight points and grabbed seven boards. Nahatabaa Nacona (Chinle, Ariz.) chipped in with seven rebounds and two points. Janeth Cruz (Reseda, Calif.) and Shannon Chau (San Francisco, Calif.) both finished with five points.
The home team raced out to an 11-0 lead and sported a 25-12 advantage after the first quarter.
Eastern Nazarene started the second period with a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to 29-26.
Merrimack responded with 13 straight points to widen the gap to 42-26 with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter.
The Lions trailed 42-28 at the half after shooting 33.3% from the floor and 40% from beyond the arc in the first half. The Warriors posted a field-goal percentage of 35% in the opening two quarters while connecting on 6-of-17 from three-point range.
Merrimack outscored Eastern Nazarene 25-7 in the third to extend its lead to 67-35 heading into the fourth frame.
Both squads scored 15 points in the final period as the hosts collected their second all-time win over the Lions.
Eastern Nazarene finished with a field-goal percentage of 28.6% to go with a 6-for-23 clip from long distance. Merrimack shot 37.3% from the floor on the night and 40% from behind the arc.
Alyssa Casey poured in a game-high 17 points to lead the Warriors while Emily Houle added 14 points off the bench and Denia Davis-Stewart contributed with 10 points, nine boards, and six blocks.
Up next, Eastern Nazarene will travel to Anna Maria November 23.