MANCHESTER, N.H. – Chloe Rothman totaled 23 points to lead Merrimack College to a 64-54 Northeast-10 women's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire University Saturday afternoon at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Warriors upped their record to 11-9 and 7-8 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 10-13 and 4-12 in the league.

Rothman finished 9-19 from the floor, including 2-3 behind the arc.  Aria Johnson was the other Warrior in double figures, as she totaled 16 points and nine rebounds on 8-13 shooting. 

Victoria Wiseman (Montreal, Quebec) paced Southern New Hampshire with 15 points and six rebounds, while Sara Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) registered 14 points.  Kaylea Griffin (Green Springs, Ohio) was 5-7 from the floor and added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Merrimack led 31-29 at halftime, but a steal and layup by Ryan 41 seconds into the second half tied the game 31-31.  The guests gradually pulled away, opening up a 44-37 lead with 11:14 left on an Ashley Weissmann three-pointer.  The Penmen chipped away and cut the lead to three, 48-45, at the 5:28 mark on a basket by Wiseman.

The Warriors countered with the next five points and a Rothman trifecta with 4:14 to go made it a 53-45 game.  The Penmen got within five, 57-52, with 1:34 left on a Wiseman basket, but got no closer as Merrimack sealed the win by going 5-6 at the free throw line in the final minute.

The first half saw seven lead changes, with SNHU opening up a 12-4 lead five minutes into the game.  Merrimack tied the game 14-14 on a free throw at the 10:15 mark, and took its first lead on a Johnson layup 7:47 before intermission.  Ryan forced the half's ninth tie with 25 seconds to go on a layup that made it 29-29, but a Rothman basket six seconds before the break gave the guests a 31-29 lead.

Merrimack shot 43.1% for the game and SNHU 42.6%, but the Warriors were 5-16 behind the arc, while the Penmen misfired on all five of their three-point attempts.  The guests went 9-15 at the free throw line while SNHU was 8-10, and the Penmen held a 39-31 rebounding advantage, but 21 Penmen turnovers led to a 21-6 Merrimack lead in points off turnovers.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Tuesday night when it hosts Franklin Pierce University in a 5:30 Northeast-10 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The game can be heard in the Manchester area on WGIR 610 AM.

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