By Canadian Press on February 21, 2025.
Iona Gaels (10-16, 8-8 MAAC) at Merrimack Warriors (11-14, 7-9 MAAC) North Andover, Massachusetts; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Erin Leary and Iona take on Madison Roman and Merrimack on Saturday. The Warriors have gone 8-3 in home games. Merrimack allows 63.6 points and has been outscored by 4.6 points per game. The Gaels are 8-8 in MAAC play. Iona is ninth in the MAAC scoring 57.3 points per game and is shooting 37.9%. Merrimack is shooting 37.8% from the field this season, 4.9 percentage points lower than the 42.7% Iona allows to opponents. Iona averages 6.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.0 more made shot on average than the 5.7 per game Merrimack gives up. The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play. TOP PERFORMERS: Thalia Shepard is scoring 12.8 points per game and averaging 4.1 rebounds for the Warriors. Lydia Melaschenko is averaging 1.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. Ella Fajardo is averaging 10.3 points for the Gaels. Leary is averaging 10.4 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Warriors: 4-6, averaging 59.0 points, 31.5 rebounds, 11.6 assists, 9.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 38.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.3 points per game. Gaels: 4-6, averaging 62.6 points, 27.9 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 6.7 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 41.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.3 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. The Associated Press 16