NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – The LIU women's basketball team traveled to take on Merrimack on Thursday night and clinched a big-time road win over the Warriors, 61-59 in a game that came down to the final second. Senior guard Brandy Thomas led for the Sharks with 20 points, going 6-for-8 from behind the arc, and her assist in the final moments of the game sealed the team's victory.
 
SHARK BITES

• The Sharks overcame a slow start, ending the first ten minutes down 20-13, by putting together scoring runs in the second and third quarters that gave them enough cushion to outlast when the Warriors pushed back in the fourth.
• In the second period LIU outscored Merrimack 18-10, going on an 11-6 run in the final three minutes of the half to take a narrow 31-30 lead into halftime.
• The Sharks again set off on another run in the third period, outscoring the Warriors 11-2 in the last three minutes of the period and taking a 47-40 lead with ten minutes to play.  
• The Warriors mounted a comeback attempt in the fourth, outscoring the Sharks 19-12 to tie the game at 59-59 with thirty seconds left to play. Thomas though, cool-as-you-like with two seconds left to play, split a double team and passed the ball off to senior Mia Perkins who's final second layup in the paint gave the Sharks the 61-59 advantage that earned them the win.
• Freshman guard Emaia O'Brien had 10 points and four rebounds. Fellow freshman guard Danielle Grim had eight points and five rebounds.
• LIU finished the game shooting 42.3 percent from behind the arc.
• Up next, the Sharks head to Hackensack, N.J. to take on the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Saturday, February 26 at 2 p.m.