SMC bolts out to 25-point halftime lead in key win for playoff positioning

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Contact: Seth Cole - Phone: 802.654.2537

Box Score: http://www.smcathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2010-11/files/wmerstm.htm.  

COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team (11-10, 9-9 Northeast-10 Conference) cruised to a key 71-50 victory versus Merrimack College in league action on Thursday at the Vincent C. Ross Sports Center.

For the Purple Knights, sophomore Nicole Adach (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen) led a balanced scoring attack with a game-high 15 points, 10 rebounds, and six steals. Senior Logan Pintka (Schenectady, N.Y./Colonie Central) and junior Caitlin Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./Montville) netted 14 points apiece, with Quinn burying 4-of-6 3-pointers, and Pintka eclipsing the 1,100-point mark for her career, while senior Marilyn Ferreira (New London, N.H./Kearsarge Regional) recorded 10 points and six assists.

For Merrimack (10-12, 8-10 NE-10), senior Taneka Brown (Lynn, Mass.) was the lone player to score in double figures, registering 14 points. The Warriors were undone by 27 turnovers, and shot just 33 percent from the field in the contest (20-of-61).

With the win, Saint Michael's takes a one-game lead over Merrimack for eighth place in the conference standings, with four league games remaining. The eighth seed in the final regular-season standings hosts the ninth seed in the First Round of the NE-10 Tournament.

Merrimack held just one lead in the contest, 3-2, following a 3-point play by Brown 1:31 into the game. Eleven seconds later, a 3-pointer from junior Coreen Hennessy (Chatham, N.H./Fryeburg Academy) – her only points of the game - gave Saint Michael's the lead for good, and began a 17-0 run that gave the hosts a 19-3 edge just six minutes into the game. Merrimack trimmed its deficit to 11 points later in the period, but the Purple Knights poured it on once again, closing the half on a 14-4 run to take a commanding 46-21 halftime advantage.

Saint Michael's shot 57 percent from the field in the opening period (16-of-28), including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Merrimack made just 8-of-26 field goals in the first 20 minutes. The Warriors also committed 16 turnovers in the half, curtailing their offense.

The Purple Knights pushed their lead to a game-high 31 points in the second half, the last time at 58-27 with 12:25 to go following a pair of Ferreira free throws. Merrimack then went on a 14-2 run to pull to within 60-41 with 7:14 remaining, but could get no closer, as the Purple Knights made 13-of-16 free throws in the second half to hold off the visitors.

Saint Michael's returns to action on Saturday, as the Purple Knights host their final game of the regular season, taking on league-rival Stonehill College at 1:30 p.m. Merrimack also returns to action on Saturday, hosting the University of Massachusetts Lowell at 1 p.m.

-PURPLEKNIGHTS-