BOX SCORE
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - Stephanie Houghton (Manchester,
NH) totaled 16 points to lead Southern New Hampshire University to
a 54-52 Northeast-10 women's basketball victory over Merrimack
College at the Volpe Center Monday night. The Penmen improved
to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the NE-10, while the Warriors fell to 1-4
and 0-2 in the league.
Houghton drained a trio of
three-pointers on the evening and also dished out three
assists. Jenny McDade (Derry, NH) totaled 10
points, canning a pair of threes, while Alyssa
Whitney (Somerville, MA) recorded nine points, five
rebounds and three rebounds for Southern New Hampshire.
Christine Duffy (South Boston, MA) handed out six
assists.
Merrimack's Amanda Shannon went
5-10 from three-point land and led all scorers with 23 points,
while Tiffany Colon added 11 points and eight rebounds for the
Warriors.
Southern New Hampshire held a 26-22
lead at halftime and took its largest lead, 47-38, with 6:22
remaining on a basket by Houghton. Merrimack used a 9-2 run
to pull within two, 49-47, with 2:35 remaining when Hannah
Degraffinreed made 1-of-2 at the line. Houghton would push
the lead back to four on SNHU's next possession.
The two teams would trade empty
trips before Shannon was fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:26
left. She would make two of her three free throws to make it
51-49. The Penmen would reclaim a four-point advantage with
51 seconds left on a basket by Megan Smith
(Smithfield, ME) and made it 54-49 with 28 seconds to go when
Houghton made 1-of-2 at the line.
Colon connected on a three with
nine seconds left to make it a 54-52 game. Houghton would be
fouled on SNHU's next possession, but missed both free throws,
giving the Warriors one final shot at tying or taking the
lead. Shannon would attempt to tie the game but her shot was
blocked by Smith to end the game.
Merrimack jumped out to a 17-12
lead 11 minutes into the game following a three-pointer by Colon,
but the Penmen would outscore the Warriors 12-2 over the next nine
minutes and a three-pointer by Whitney with 1:53 left before
halftime gave the Penmen a 24-19 lead. SNHU led 24-22 late
but McDade would beat the buzzer with a layup to give the Penmen a
four-point lead at the break.
Southern New Hampshire outrebounded
Merrimack 40-36 and held the Warriors to just 30.2% shooting for
the game.
SNHU is idle until Sunday when it
hosts Stonehill for a 1:30 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
