Marist women’s basketball struggled to take care of the basketball against Merrimack in the first ever matchup the programs, committing 12 first-half turnovers in a 55-48 loss. The Warriors used an assertive 18-9 third period to secure the seven-point victory during the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Pink Game in McCann Arena.
“I could kind of tell pregame just the faces, I wasn’t sure we were completely locked in,” said Doughty. “That’s on me…I need to get them fired up a little bit. I was not happy going into halftime so it was heated in there and I hoped that would bring us out with a spark to start the second, but it didn’t.”
The Red Foxes limited themselves to just five giveaways in the second half but failed to make shots before it was too late. Junior center Morgan Lee provided 16 points for Marist, while junior guard Jackie Piddock logged 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the loss.
Sophomore guard Thalia Shepard led the way for the Warriors with 17 points, while sophomore forward Madison Roman delivered a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Lee picked up where she left off against Siena, scoring the opening points of the game with a layup. Lee followed that up by draining her first 3-pointer and a baseline jumper, scoring the first seven points for the Red Foxes.
While both sides started sloppy with possession, the Warriors took care of the basketball for the remainder of the first quarter however, while Marist went on to commit seven giveaways in the opening period.
Careless play for both sides continued to start the second quarter. Merrimack coughed up three giveaways in the first five minutes, while Marist reached 10 turnovers at the midway point of the second frame.
“They’re a gritty, physical team,” said head coach Erin Doughty. “They’re switching I think bothered us and we didn’t execute the way we wanted to in our post iso’s.”
Junior guard Jackie Piddock stayed in a rhythm however, delivering a 3-pointer to lead all Marist scorers at the 5:41 mark with eight points on a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. Sophomore guard Julia Corsentino and freshman guard Danielle Williamsen knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the tail-end of the half to help give Marist a 25-22 lead.
That lead appeared as if it would hold, but sophomore guard Paloma Garcia sent up a prayer with 1.1 seconds to go from half-court at the buzzer to tie things up going into halftime.
The Warriors scored 13 of their 25 first-half points off the 12 Red Fox turnovers, as Shepard led the way for them with nine points. Merrimack never got into a true rhythm on offense outside of the points off turnovers, going 2-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Both sides came out of the break strong on the offensive end, as junior forward Ciara Croker and redshirt junior guard Lexie Tarul got their first baskets of the game to start the third quarter.
The Warriors responded, however, as junior guard Lydia Melaschenko and Garcia delivered two 3-pointers. Merrimack opened the third quarter 5-for-9 from the field and stretched their lead to seven with 4:21 to go in the period.
Merrimack finished their strong third quarter with another miraculous shot, this time from redshirt freshman forward Kylee Fears. Fears somehow got a baseline fadeaway jumper to bank in as the buzzer went off, and the Warriors took a 43-34 lead into the fourth quarter after shooting 7-for-13 from the field in the third.
https://x.com/MerrimackWBB/status/1890843964636299468
“That’s a kid who doesn’t shoot outside the paint,” said Doughty. “There’s a lot of luck involved there…more disappointed in the half court heave and that we weren’t there. They threw a long pass that we should be able to deflect.”
Tarul and Lee aimed to get the Red Foxes back into it, as Tarul drained her second 3-pointer while Lee completed a 3-point play. Tarul then picked up a block on the other end which led to a Croker fast-break layup, cutting the lead to seven and forcing Merrimack to call a timeout.
Tarul made a pair of free throws following a flagrant foul on Garcia after the timeout, then Lee knocked down a mid-range jumper to make it 49-46 Merrimack with 4:15 remaining. The Red Foxes went into a press on defense, disturbing the Warriors’ defense to help aid a 12-2 Marist run.
Melashenko delivered another 3-pointer with just under two minutes to go however, building the lead back to six and one that Marist ultimately could not battle back from.
The Red Foxes, now on a two-game losing skid, will look to find their footing in a road contest against Canisius on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Edited By Dan Aulbach
Photo and Graphic Credit: Kira Crutcher
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