NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.— The Long Island University women's basketball team earned its second straight victory on Saturday afternoon with a 68-60 win over Merrimack College at Hammel Court. With the win, the Sharks move to 5-15 on the year and 4-5 in Northeast Conference action.

Sophomore Brandy Thomas, the reigning NEC Co-Player of the Week posted a season-high 29 points in the win with 21 points coming in the second half. She also registered seven rebounds, three assists and two steals against the Warriors. Junior Jeydah Johnson tallied 14 points along with three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sophomore Kiara Bell finished with a near double-double recording eight points and a team-high 10 boards.

GAME BREAKDOWN

LIU opened the game connecting on its first two shot attempts, a triple by sophomore Ryan Weise and jumper from Bell for a 5-3 lead in the opening minutes. Merrimack responded with a 10-point run to take a 13-5 lead at 5:56 in the opening quarter. The Sharks answered by outscoring the Warriors 14-6 to close out the first quarter knotted at 19-19. Johnson led LIU with four points in that closing stretch while Weise and sophomore Shyla Sanford both connected on a three-pointer.

Merrimack made the first push out of the quarter break with a four-point run to start the second, building a 23-19 lead at the 8:05 mark. The scoring went go quiet over the next couple minutes as both teams were held off the scoreboard. A triple by Johnson broke the scoring drought at 4:32 and sparked a 10-0 run for LIU to take a 29-23 lead with 1:43 to go in the first half. The Warriors cut the deficit back down to three with 10 seconds to go but Thomas capped the scoring in the opening half with a jumper in the final seconds to give LIU a 31-26 lead into the half.

The Warriors jumped out of the break looking to cut down on the deficit, outscoring LIU 7-4 in the two and a half minutes to make it a two point game, 35-33 at the 7:22 mark. It was back-and-forth play from there with both teams trading baskets. The Sharks then used a five-point stretch with a jumper from Johnson, a layup by junior Mia Perkins and a free throw from sophomore Tiya Misir to take a 43-35 lead with 3:48 remaining in the third. LIU continued to hold the advantage for the remainder of the quarter, taking a 47-40 lead into the fourth.

The fourth quarter opened with the Warriors trying to chip away at the deficit once again, eventually making it a five-point contest, 51-46 at the 6:33 mark. LIU then pushed the margin back up to 10 with a five-point stretch on a jumper from Thomas and three made free throws Perkins to jump out in front 56-46 with 4:50 remaining. Merrimack looked to make one final push but LIU was there to answer in the final duration of the quarter to hold on to the 68-60 victory.

SHARK BITES

• The victory is the Sharks' first road win of the season. LIU also handed the Warriors their third loss of the season at Hammel Court, entering today with an impressive 8-2 mark on their home court.
• Thomas recorded her fourth 20-point effort of the season, shooting 12-of-25 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the free throw line.
• Johnson finished in double figures scoring for the third straight game and 13th time this season. She recorded 14 on 6-of-11 shooting with a pair of three-pointers and tied a season-high with four assists.
• Bell registered her sixth double-digit rebounding effort of the season with a team-high 10 boards. She also posted a pair of blocks and eight points on the day.
• As a team, LIU recorded 17 assists to 13 turnovers against the Warriors. Johnson and Tarawa led the way with four assists each.
• Defensively, the Sharks posted double-digit steals for the eighth time this season with 11 steals on the day. Johnson, Tarawa, Thomas and Weise all tallied two steals.

UP NEXT

The Sharks return to Brooklyn on Saturday, February 8 to finish off the regular season series against the Warriors with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off. It will be the opening game of a four-game homestand for LIU at the Steinberg Wellness Center.