MANCHESTER, N.H. – Chloe Rothman led three Merrimack College players in double figures with 15 points as the Warriors pulled away late for a 67-58 Northeast-10 women's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire University at the SNHU Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.  Merrimack snapped a three-game slide and is now 4-5 and 2-4 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are 5-5 and 3-4 in the league.

Rothman knocked down three three-pointers and also finished with six assists and five rebounds.  Shelby Secor totaled 13 points and eight rebounds while going 5-5 at the free throw line, while Ashley Weissmann knocked down all three of her three-point attempts and added 11 points.

Sophomore Erin Doherty (Marshfield, Mass.) led Southern New Hampshire with a career-high 20 points, going 5-11 from the floor and 10-12 at the free throw line.  She also grabbed 10 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.  Junior Kaylea Griffin (Green Springs, Ohio) registered nine points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Bianca Langford  (Worcester, Mass.) finished with eight points and 16 rebounds.

After a tied game at halftime, Southern New Hampshire opened up a 39-33 lead 5:18 into the second half following a Doherty free throw.  Merrimack used a 10-2 run capped by a deep three by Weissmann at the 12:33 mark to take a 43-41 lead.  The Penmen countered with a 6-1 spurt and a three from the left corner by freshman Sara Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) with 9:10 left put the hosts on top 47-44.  The lead was short-lived, as Allison Wagner knocked down a three on the next Merrimack possession to tie the contest with 9:00 left.

Southern New Hampshire used six straight points to eke out a 56-52 lead with 5:44 left following a Ryan basket before Merrimack countered with a 10-0 run capped by a Rothman three with 2:13 to go that put the guests on top 62-56.  The Penmen were held without a field goal the rest of the way.

The two teams got off to a torrid scoring pace, with the Penmen opening up a 23-19 lead with 9:05 remaining in the first half following a pair of Brooke Springfield (Jaffrey, N.H.) free throws.  From there, neither team scored for over three minutes, and neither side converted a field goal until a layup by SNHU senior Kelly Chergey (Bow, N.H.) with 1:29 left before halftime gave the Penmen a 27-23 lead.  Wagner knocked down a three-pointer for Merrimack 46 seconds before intermission and the two teams entered the locker room deadlocked at 29.

Despite shooting 36.8% for the contest, Merrimack knocked down 10 of its 23 three-point attempts and was 15-22 at the free throw line, while limiting Southern New Hampshire to 26.9% shooting for the game, including a 1-11 effort behind the arc.  The Penmen made 21 of their 30 free throw attempts and held a commanding 57-34 rebounding advantage, including 24-7 on the offensive glass that led to a 23-6 lead in second chance points.

Southern New Hampshire is idle until next Saturday when it hosts Caldwell College in a 1:30 non-conference game at the SNHU Fieldhouse.

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