Molloy University Athletics

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Nov. 21, 2015) - Late November in the Northeast United States means that the weather turns for the worse with Old Man Winter knocking on the doors of the Mid-Atlantic and New England states. Molloy College got a taste of subzero arctic conditions in a slightly different way on Friday (Nov. 20) and will have to rebound quickly to salvage a split of its Northeast-10 road trip when the Lions visit Merrimack at 1 p.m.

The Lowdown on the Lions
To summarize the chill in the SNHU Fieldhouse would be similar to an exaggeration of trying to climb Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. But the Lions fell victim to a 49-36 defensive struggle and woeful shooting night at the hands of the Penmen, who are now 4-0 for the first time in four seasons. Senior forward Kimani Jackson (Dix Hills, N.Y.) led the maroon and white with 12 points and nine rebounds but no other Lion had double figures on the evening. Molloy shot just under 23% from the field in the loss and hit just three shots from three-point territory in 21 attempts, while the Lions were minus-29 in the rebounding category.

Grady Continues To Shine
Previously mentioned in the prior game preview, freshman guard Ihnacinse Grady (Amityville, N.Y.) has started three contests to begin her collegiate career and has performed admirably well in all of the games. Against Southern New Hampshire on Friday, she scored eight points on a 3-for-3 shooting performance (including hitting both of her three-point attempts) with two rebounds and two steals. Grady's one downfall may be her aggressive style of play as she is also averaging four personal fouls per contest.

The Warriors' Code
Merrimack got off to a good start in knocking off defending East Coast Conference champions UDC last Saturday (Nov. 13) at the STAC Conference Challenge in Sparkill, N.Y. Since the victory over the Firebirds, however, Monique LeBlanc's team has struggled to maintain momentum. The Warriors fell by 29 points to the host Spartans of Saint Thomas Aquinas and then on Wednesday (Nov. 18) were defeated 68-60 at the hands of Bentley in the NE-10 opener for both teams. The loss to the Falcons kickstarts a five-game homestand for Merrimack which includes a conference showdown with the top team in the East Region according to D2SIDA voters in Stonehill, as well as out-of-region action versus Indianapolis and St. Edward's (Texas) to close out the month.

The Wisest of Weissmann
Senior guard Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) is the team's leader on the court, averaging 13.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. The California native had a 12-point, eight-rebound performance in the Warriors' loss to Bentley on Nov. 18, shooting 5-of-13 from the field. Weissmann has played in 85 games through her career, which means she has appeared on the court in every contest throughout her four years in North Andover, Mass.

Eight Is Enough
Merrimack's line-up is virtually the same every night, as this season a total of eight players have gotten into all three games so far. The core starting five---Weissmann, My'Asia Alston (Cohoes, N.Y.), Tia Scott (New York, N.Y.), Savannah Johnson (Palmdale, Calif.) and Madison Ward (Binghamton, N.Y.)---is averaging 47.3 points per game or 78% of the 61.3 points per game scored by the Warriors so far this season. The other three players that have seen action in every contest are senior Amanda Hoover (Columbus, Ohio) and a pair of freshmen in guards Lexi Martin (Franklin, Mass.) and Hannah Neild (Litchfield, N.H.).

MC vs. MC Recently
The two sides have split the previous two battles with Molloy winning the first contest by a 63-51 score on Nov. 12, 2011. One year later, Merrimack got its revenge by knocking off the Lions 57-42 on Dec. 15, 2012. In that game, Weissmann had a seven-point, seven-rebound effort to spur the Warriors on to victory while Molloy guard Alex Hampton (Baldwin, N.Y.) had a nice all-around performance with seven points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals.