NORTH ANDOVER, MA – St. Francis Brooklyn women's basketball wrapped up its regular season on the road on Thursday evening, taking on a Merrimack team in a battle for the third seed in the Northeast Conference. The shorthanded Terriers gave the Warriors everything they could handle but fell by a score of 61-60.
The Terriers boasted a balanced offensive unit, led by Alyssa Fisher's 17 points. Angena Belloso added 14 points and seven rebounds and Sheridan Kavanagh also reached double figures with 10 points.
The game was tight from start to finish, and the first quarter mostly belonged to Merrimack. The Warriors took the lead 7-5 at the 7:35 mark and held the advantage for the rest of the period. Two Fisher free throws cut it to 13-12, but the Warriors scored six of the next nine points to go ahead 19-16 after 10 minutes of action.
St. Francis Brooklyn crashed the offensive boards in the second quarter, corralling five in total to tie things up at the break. Belloso helped spark a run to grab the lead at the mid-way point of the frame, hitting a pair of free throws to go ahead 26-24. Merrimack battled back to take the lead back in the final minute but a step back two-pointer by Fisher at the buzzer tied the game at 30 going into the half.
Merrimack started the third quarter on a run, going ahead by six points before the Terriers regained control and eventually took the lead. An Eszter Varga lay-up made it 47-45 in favor of the Terriers and two minutes later the Terriers took a 52-49 edge into the fourth quarter.
The final frame continued the pace of the previous three, as the two sides battled it out to the very end. The Warriors took their first lead since the third quarter with 2:28 remaining before Fisher hit a runner to tie the game up. With eight seconds remaining, Merrimack made a tough lay-in on the left side to regain the lead at 61-59. Fisher was fouled going to the basket and split a pair of free throws before the Warriors escaped the Terrier defense and escaped with a narrow 61-60 win.
The loss makes St. Francis Brooklyn the No. 4 seed in the NEC tournament.
Sarah Bandoma was one point away from a double-double, scoring nine points and adding 12 rebounds. Varga had six points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Up Next
The No. 4 seeded Terriers will take on No. 5 seeded Wagner at the ARC on Monday evening to start the NEC playoffs. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on NEC FrontRow.
