Firebirds Fall to Merrimack 75-66 in Season-Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dist. Columbia (0-1) | 12 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 66 |
|
Merrimack (1-0) | 18 | 21 | 14 | 22 | 75 |
SPARKILL, NY – The University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team was defeated by Merrimack College, 75-66 in Friday night's neutral-site season-opener at the Conference Challenge Tournament hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas College.
Senior guard/forward Iman Scott led four Firebird scorers in double-figures with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-16 FG shooting, and senior forward Tatyana Calhoun posted her 6th career double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds. Also, senior forward Tiara Goode registered 15 points, five rebounds and three assists in her return after sitting out the entire 2014-15 season due to injury.
The Warriors (1-0), picked to finish 5th in the Northeast-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, out-shot the Firebirds 50-percent (26-of-52) to 39-percent (22-of-56) from the field and had 19 assists to UDC's 11. Ashley Weissmann led five Warrior scorers in double-figures with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. My'Asia Alston registered 13 points, five assists, and a game-high three steals, and Tia Scott added eight points to go with a game-high 12 assists.
UDC was hampered by a slow start, as a jump-shot by Scott was the Firebirds only hoop until nearly halfway into the first quarter, and Merrimack raced out to an early 8-2 advantage. A three-pointer by Goode on her 2nd attempt of the game, followed by a layup by senior guard Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore (14 points, five assists) made it 8-7, but a 10-0 Warriors surge culminating in a Hannah Neild three-pointer extended Merrimack's lead to 18-7 with just over a minute left in the opening quarter. The Firebirds closed the gap to six with a 5-0 run, but still trailed 18-12 at the quarter's end.
A very evenly-played 2nd quarter saw both teams add 21 points to their running tally as the Firebirds closed to within one on five separate occasions but never forced a tie or took a lead. Baldwin-Kollore (eight points) and Scott (six points) led the UDC 2nd quarter scoring charge, but the Warriors closed on a 5-0 run, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Weissmann, to maintain its six-point lead, 39-33 at halftime.
The Firebirds came out red-hot in the 3rd quarter, opening on an 11-2 burst to take their first lead of the game, 44-41, four minutes into the action. The lead briefly changed hands back to the Warriors after consecutive baskets by Amanda Hoover and Weissmann made it 45-44, but the Firebirds quickly responded with a 5-0 run to pull in front again, 49-45 with 3:33 remaining in the quarter. UDC still led 51-47 after an Arielle Ward jumpshot at the 2-minute mark, but Merrimack once again made a last-minute run, scoring the final six points of the 3rd quarter to claim a 53-51 lead at the buzzer.
In the fourth quarter, Weissmann and Goode traded three-pointers within the first 36 seconds of action, but Madison Ward's layup sparked a 15-4 run by the Warriors over the next seven minutes as Merrimack took its largest lead of the game, 71-58 with 2:43 left to play in regulation. The Warriors went on to make 4-of-6 free-throws to ice the game as they won by a nine-point margin.
Tonight's game marked the Firebird head coaching debut of DeWayne Burroughs, who was hired over the summer after three seasons as an assistant. Burroughs and the Firebirds (0-1) will look to bounce back tomorrow as they battle Felician College at 1 p.m.