NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team trimmed a 12-point deficit to one with a little more than three minutes remaining on Saturday before falling short at regionally-regarded Merrimack College, 64-59, on Hammel Court during Northeast-10 Conference play. The Purple Knights are 6-4 overall and 2-4 in the league, while the Warriors, who received votes toward this week's D2SIDA East Region Media Poll, are 6-3 and 4-2.

Saint Michael's, which opened a five-game road swing after playing seven of its first nine games at home, limited a team with the second-best scoring offense in the league (76.8), while the Warriors entered the contest leading Division II in three-point shooting (44.4%) before being held to a 3-of-13 (23.1%) effort. Facing the best three-point defense in the NE-10 (26.1%), the Purple Knights shot 7-of-20 (35.0%) from beyond the arc.

Six Purple and Gold players scored between eight and 11 points, with sophomore Indira Evora (Somerville, Mass./Somerville) totaling a team-high 11. First-year Leah Spencer (Brockton, Mass./Archbishop Williams) notched a well-rounded 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while senior Maggie Sabine (Litchfield, Maine/Oak Hill/Central Maine CC) had 10 points, five boards and three helpers. Juniors Makenzie Burud (Red Hook, N.Y./Coleman Catholic) and Megan Gaudreau (Brooklyn, Conn./Pomfret School) totaled nine points apiece, with Gaudreau shooting 3-of-5 from three-point range and adding three assists and three steals. First-year Tomi Akinpetide (Sydney, Australia/Rice Memorial) tallied eight points, and senior Kelly Frappier (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) pulled seven rebounds.

Senior Aria Johnson (Los Osos, Calif./Cuesta) recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds for Merrimack, classmate Chloe Rothman (Newton, Mass./Newton South) totaled 14 points and five assists, and junior Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif./Summit) was one of three Warriors with eight points while snagging 11 boards.

The Warriors began the second half with nine straight points, seven of which came from Rothman, to pull ahead 39-32. Gaudreau buried a three to make it 41-37 at 15:04 before the hosts pushed their advantage to 10, eventually extending it to 53-41 at 10:39. From there, Saint Michael's staged a 15-4 rally to chip within 57-56. Gaudreau drained two treys 36 seconds apart to make it 57-51, and Spencer knocked down a free throw at 3:19 to create a one-point margin, but Johnson snapped Merrimack's 4:42 scoreless drought at 3:10, and the Warriors scored seven of the game's final 10 points.

After Merrimack scored the opening four points of the game, Saint Michael's countered with the following seven, as Spencer's three-pointer put the visitors ahead at 7-4 by 16:29 of the opening stanza. The Purple Knights pushed their advantage to four points on three occasions before Johnson had two hoops during an 8-2 Warrior run, and the hosts nabbed a 20-18 edge at 6:50, their first lead since 4-0. In the final 9:38 of the half, the teams played through six ties and two lead changes, and neither squad led by more than three points. In a 30-all game, Evora dropped in a go-ahead hoop with 21 seconds remaining, and a Merrimack shot was offline at the buzzer. The visitors led 32-30 at halftime.

The Purple Knights oppose NE-10 foe Saint Anselm College for a non-league contest next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.