Box Score NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Sacred Heart women's basketball team struggled through extended scoring droughts in a 59-45 road loss to Merrimack on Friday afternoon from Hammel Court. SHU (8-17, 5-9 NEC) losses for the sixth straight game while the Warriors (18-8, 11-4 NEC) win their sixth straight.
Nikki Johnson tied for the team-lead in scoring with Olivia Dabney as the duo accounted for 14 points apiece and 28 of the team's total on the afternoon. Jayla Davis added nine points off the bench for SHU as just five players scored for the Pioneers in defeat.
Merrimack's Denia Davis-Stewart dominated for the home side, playing all 40 minutes and accumulating 25 points, 24 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals as she continues to put up gawdy numbers in the Warriors' first Division I season. Kate Mager drained 5-for-7 from behind the arc as she finished with 17 points for Merrimack.
1ST Quarter (14-10 MER)
- An explosive start to this otherwise defensive battle saw the Pioneers make their first three shots from the floor including three-pointers from Johnson and Marie-Laeticiz Ziba
- Despite all the success in the first two-plus minutes, SHU saw Merrimack answer back with eight points of their own as the score was tied 8-8 despite the Pioneers going 3-for-3 to start the game
- That early offensive success for SHU didn't carry over to the rest of the quarter as SHU went scoreless for 7:10 minutes as Johnson was able to get a runner to fall with 40 seconds left in the frame to make it 14-10 Warriors
- The Pioneer defense kept SHU in the game after one as Merrimack went 5-for-17 from the floor in the opening quarter while misfiring on nine of their 12 three-point attempts
2nd Quarter (32-19 MER)
- Neither side scored for the first 2:30 of the second quarter as the defense for both sides continued to dominate
- SHU was finally able to get some shots to fall as Johnson drove the lane for two and Olivia Dabney followed with her first points of the game to cut the Warriors lead down to 16-14 with 6:11 left in the first half
- This, however, was the closest SHU would get to the lead for the remainder of play as Courtney Clasen answered Dabney's jumper with a layup and Merrimack outscored SHU 16-5 over the final 6+ minutes of the quarter including eight unanswered before halftime
3rd Quarter (48-27 MER)
- Johnson had points on consecutive possessions as SHU was still very much in the game midway through the third, trailing by 10 at 37-27 Warriors
- It was over the remaining 6:07 minutes of the quarter where the outcome was determined as SHU was held scoreless in that time frame while Merrimack put up 11 unanswered to take a 21-point lead into the fourth
4th Quarter (59-45 MER)
- SHU was able to produce a successful quarter on the offensive end as the Pioneers outscored the Warriors 18-11 in the fourth but it was too little too late
- After going 10-for-44 from the floor and 3-for-17 from three in the first three quarters combined, SHU shot 6-of-12 (50 percent) overall and 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from behind the arc in the final quarter
- Jayla Davis connected on two three-pointers and added a free throw as she scored seven of her nine points for the game in the fourth quarter alone
NOTES
- Johnson tallied her sixth double-digit scoring total in 14 games played this season
- Since missing 11 games straight between Dec. 14 through Jan. 27, Johnson is averaging 9.7 points in her six games played since returning to the SHU lineup from injury
- Dabney shot well, going 4-for-9 from the floor, 2-for-3 from three and 4-for-4 at the free throw line on her way to a 14-point effort, just three shy of her career-high
- Dabney now has 10+ points in 11 games this season
- Adrianne Hagood returned to the Pioneer lineup after missing three straight games with injury and went scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting in 18 minutes
- Hagood came in as the NEC's second-leading scorer (16.8 PPG coming into today)
- Merrimack did a tremendous job on the reigning NEC Rookie of the Week Sonia Smith, who also went scoreless with two turnovers in this one
NEXT GAME
SHU makes its return to the Pitt Center on Sunday with a 1:00 PM tip against Bryant. The game can be seen on SNY later Sunday afternoon (tape delay).
