NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's basketball team visits Bryant University for a single game on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. The contest from the Chase Athletic Center can be seen live on NEC Front Row and on the NEC On The Run app. Merrimack enters the tilt 1.5 games behind Bryant for sixth place in the NEC.
LAST TIME OUT
The Warriors split a pair of games over the weekend against Central Connecticut State University. Merrimack won the first game, 81-62, behind one of the team's best offensive performances of the season. Five Warriors scored at least 12 points in the win including a game-high 24 points for senior
Mayson Kimball. Kimball tied her career high with five 3-pointers made, shooting 8-of-18 overall. Merrimack also nearly orchestrated a come-from-behind win on Sunday against the Blue Devils, shooting over 50 percent from the field in the second half, but Central was able to close out the Warriors to win, 73-67.
SERIES HISTORY
Bryant and Merrimack will reunite for the third time as Division I foes after a long history at the Division II level. Wednesday will be the 48th all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Warriors, with Bryant holding a 27-20 edge. Merrimack won both of last year's meetings, including a 61-53 victory in Smithfield. Junior
Kate Mager enjoyed one of her best games of her sophomore year with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting and five 3-pointers. Sophomore
Jayme DeCesare also enjoyed a strong game with 15 points, going 6-of-12 from the field.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Bryant has lost five of its last six games, all of which have come in NEC play. Bryant only played twice in the month of January, and will now play for the fifth time in eight days. The Bulldogs are led by senior Brooke Bjelko, who nearly averages a double-double with 16.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Bryant ranks seventh in the NEC in both scoring offense (59.4) and scoring defense (65.8). The hosts also enter the game as the top rebounding team in the conference with a +5.5 margin.
Matchup Comparison
| Category |
Merrimack (3-7, 3-7 NEC) |
Bryant (5-7, 3-5 NEC) |
| Scoring Offense |
63.3 |
59.4 |
| Scoring Defense |
67.1 |
65.8 |
| Field-Goal % |
40.6% |
38.4% |
| Field-Goal % Defense |
39.9% |
41.3% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % |
35.0% |
32.8% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % Defense |
31.3% |
32.7% |
| 3-PT Field Goals (Made-Attempts) |
78-223 |
61-186 |
| Free-Throw Percentage |
64.5% |
64.2% |
| Winning Percentage |
3-7 (.300) |
5-7 (.417) |
| Rebounding Margin |
+0.5 |
+5.5 |
| Assists/Game |
12.8 |
12.2 |
| Steals/Game |
9.7 |
8.8 |
| Turnovers/Game |
18.5 |
20.8 |
| Blocks/Game |
1.6 |
2.8 |
| Scoring Offense |
63.3 |
59.4 |
MILESTONES APPROACHING
Merrimack has a few individuals within striking distance of milestones in 2020-21. Senior
Alyssa Casey boasts 940 points and 418 rebounds. She would become the 22nd 1,000-point scorer in school history. Senior
Mayson Kimball - who missed last season due to injury - has started in all eight games this season and is also nearing 1,000 points, sitting on 772. Junior
Kate Mager is approaching Merrimack's 3-pointers made record, needing 23 more to set establish a new mark. She's hit 169 triples over 65 games.
KIMBALL STEPS UP
After missing all of 2019-20 due to injury, senior
Mayson Kimball put fourth her best run of games last week. She averaged 17.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last week including a pair of 20-point performances. She shot 47 percent (26-55) from the field and 42 percent (9-22) from three.
THE MORRONE CAPSULE
Kelly Morrone begins her tenure as the seventh head coach in the history of the Merrimack College women's basketball program. Morrone brings 117 career victories with her, spending the past seven seasons at DII John Carroll University in Ohio. Morrone brought that program to new heights, reaching its first three NCAA Tournaments over her seven-year stretch. She boasts plenty of DI experience too, playing at the University of South Carolina while coaching at William & Mary (2012-13), Rhode Island (2010-12), Davidson (2008-10) and Buffalo (2005-08).
AROUND THE NEC
Merrimack is among the NEC leaders in a few different areas. After two 80-point games last week, Merrimack has risen to fourth in scoring offense (63.3) and field goal percentage (.405). The Warriors lead the league in 3-point percentage (.345), and are top three in assists per game (12.7), steals per game (9.7) and are second with 7.6 three-point field goals per contest.
CHRISTIAN'S SOPHOMORE SUCCESS
Sophomore
Diamond Christian has stepped up her game between her freshman and sophomore seasons. Christian is fourth on the team in points (87), second in assists (22), tied for first in steals (16) and fourth field goals made (33). She's made 51 percent of her shots (33-65) and 57 percent of her 3-point attempts (13-24), which both lead the team as well. She's scored in double figures four times through 10 games, which already is more than the amount of double-figure scoring tilts (3) over 29 games as a rookie in 2019-20.
"MAJOR" MOMENTS FOR MAGER
Junior
Kate Mager's name is littered across the NEC leaders through eight games this season. The sharp-shooter is first in the league in 3-point percentage (.442), first in 3-pointers made per game (2.70). Mager has been critical for Merrimack this season, barely coming off the floor to the tune of a NEC-high 37.3 minutes per game. She's also the 11th-ranked scorer in the conference at 11.9 ppg. Last week alone, Mager hit 14 triples over a four-game span.
Up Next:
Merrimack will be off until next Wednesday when the Warriors host Mount St. Mary's at 4 p.m. at Hammel Court.
