BOX SCORE

When and Where: December 18, 2016 – No. Andover, Mass. (Hammel Court)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 67, Merrimack College 65
Records: SNHU 6-6 (3-4 NE-10), Merrimack 4-7 (3-4 NE-10)

Sophomore Kylie Lorenzen (Holliston, Mass.) scored 14 points, including 12 in the second half,  as the Southern New Hampshire University women's basketball team turned back late-charging Merrimack College to earn a 67-65 victory Sunday afternoon at Hammel Court.

Lorenzen bounced back from an 0-for-4 opening half to finish 4-for-15 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line, to go along with four rebounds and three steals.

Lexi Martin led the Warriors with 18 points, while Savannah Johnson posted a double-double of 12 points and 15 boards.

A 3-pointer from sophomore Brianna Camara (Fall River, Mass.) opened the scoring just 17 seconds into the contest and gave Southern New Hampshire the lead for good in the first quarter. The margin grew as large as five, but a Johnson layup began a frame-ending 3-0 run for Merrimack that pulled it to within 12-10.

Hannah Neild knocked down a 3 just four seconds into the second stanza to hand the Warriors their first lead of the afternoon at 13-12. Two lead changes and a tie followed before baskets from freshman Amanda Kelly (Bethpage, N.Y.), senior Sara Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) and freshman Victoria Dean (Plymouth, Mass.) opened up a 21-17 advantage for the Penmen just over three minutes into the quarter.

Merrimack would counter with a 6-0 run to go back in front, 23-21, but a big trey from junior Mimi MacLeod (Hampton Falls, N.H.) sparked a 7-0 spurt for SNHU that gave it a five-point lead with 1:49 left. The Warriors would trim their deficit to 28-25 at the break.

Layups from freshman Molly Terry (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and junior Olivia Conrad (Hanover, Mass.) began a 7-2 run that was finished by a Lorenzen three-point play to widen the Penmen advantage to 35-27 less than three minutes into the third quarter. A Dean triple at the 4:30 mark would give Southern New Hampshire its largest lead of the day at 42-33.

Merrimack responded with a 7-1 run to trim its deficit to three at 43-40 with 2:40 to go. The Warriors would get no closer than three the rest of the quarter and went into the fourth trailing, 50-46.

A Martin layup to begin the final frame pulled Merrimack within a pair. The lead for the Penmen was then three when back-to-back Kelly hoops triggered a 6-1 spurt that widened the gap to 59-51 with 6:19 remaining. A 3-pointer from junior Catherine Stinson (Lynn, Mass.) less than four minutes later matched the game-high nine-point lead at 65-56, but four straight points from Martin powered a game-ending 9-2 run that slashed the Merrimack deficit to two at 67-65.

The Warriors called a timeout with less than two seconds on the clock, but the Penmen were able to inbound the ball and avoid being fouled to seal the win.

Ryan scored nine points (4-7 FG, 1-3 3-FG) – all in the first half – while handing out three assists and blocking a pair of shots. MacLeod posted eight points (3-8 FG, 1-1 3-FG, 1-2 FT) and seven rebounds, while Dean also netted eight points (3-6 FG, 2-4 3-FG) and collected two rebounds. Kelly recorded six points (3-8 FG) and six boards, with Camara tallying six points (1-4 FG, 1-1 3-FG, 3-4 FT) and five helpers.

Notes:
-Southern New Hampshire was outshot by Merrimack, 43.1 percent (28-65) to 37.3 percent (25-67), but owned a huge advantage from beyond the arc, 43.8 percent (7-16) to 14.3 percent (3-21).
-SNHU was also better from the line, 83.3 percent (10-12) to 54.5 percent (6-11).
-The Warriors won the glass (45-40) and the paint (38-30), while also featuring a better assist-to-turnover ratio (17/17-11/13). The Penmen, however, turned their plus-four turnover differential into an 11-6 advantage in points off mistakes.

Up Next:
The Penmen are now off until Friday, Dec. 30 (1:30 p.m.) when they play host to Concordia (N.Y.) College in non-league play at the Fieldhouse on Youth Day. Admission for children 12-and-under is free!

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