NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – In a game that saw 15 lead changes, Ashley Weissman had 16 points off the bench to lead Merrimack College to a 61-58 Northeast-10 women's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire University at Hammel Court Saturday afternoon.  The Warriors improve to 6-2 and 4-2 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 3-4 and 2-4 in the league.

Weissman finished 4-5 behind the three-point arc and 5-9 overall to lead three Merrimack players in double figures.  Chloe Rothman recorded 15 points and seven assists, while Kelly Schatzlein added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Sloane Sorrell (Berwick, Maine) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds to pace Southern New Hampshire, finishing 8-10 from the floor.  Victoria Wiseman (Montreal, Quebec) and Michelle DeRoma (West Roxbury, Mass.) each finished with 12 points for the Penmen.

Southern New Hampshire trailed 45-39 midway through the second half following a Weissman three-pointer, but used a 9-2 run to take a 48-47 lead with just under six minutes left on a pair of Sorrell free throws.  The two teams traded the lead five times over the next three minutes, with the Warriors taking the lead for good on a Shelby Secor layup with 2:35 left that made it 55-54 in favor of the hosts.

Merrimack went up 59-54 on a Rothman layup with 49 seconds left, but Sorrell made it 59-56 with 18 seconds to go.  The Penmen fouled Weissman, who missed the front end of a one-and-one, with Wiseman collecting the rebound.  Wiseman made it 59-58 with nine seconds to go on her layup, and again foul Weissman, who sank a pair at the line to make it 61-58.  A look at a game-tying three-pointer by DeRoma as time expired was off the mark.

The Warriors held the largest lead of the first half, 18-13, with just over five minutes remaining before halftime, before Southern New Hampshire used an 8-2 run to take a 21-20 lead at the 1:58 mark on a Wiseman basket.  Merrimack took a 29-27 lead into the locker room.

Southern New Hampshire shot 52.2% in the second half and 45.3% for the game while limiting the Warriors to 34.4% shooting, but the Penmen committed 21 turnovers that lead to a 22-12 Merrimack advantage in points off turnovers.  SNHU outrebounded Merrimack 41-37 and was 10-15 at the free throw line while the hosts were 9-12, but the Warriors connected on eight of their 19 three-point attempts while SNHU was 0-5 behind the arc.

SNHU steps out of conference Monday evening when it travels to Mercy College for a 6:00 contest.