Lions Take Down Warriors in Season Opener

BY Patrick McCormack

Graduate student Amanda Bartlett  scored 21 points to lead Molloy to a 63-51 victory in the season opener at Hammel Court on the campus of Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts . Junior Molly Dreyer, who missed all of last season with an injury, added 10 points for the Lions.

Dyeyer was happy to be able to contribute. "It felt amazing to be back playing again, and I couldn't have been happier about the win," Dreyer said. "It’s a great way to start off the season, especially against a good NE10 team.”

The Warriors held a narrow 12-11 lead early in the first half, but then they went on an 11-3 run to take a nine-point lead with just under nine minutes left in the half. However, Molloy would answer with a 21-3 run of their own to go to the break with a 35-26 lead. Bartlett scored 11 points during the scoring spree.

Bartlett, who was making her Molloy debut on Saturday, was happy with the way her team fought back. "Getting this first win was big for our team. It was against a Northeast conference team and set our season out on the right foot,” Bartlett said. “We never lost our composure after going down nine midway through the first half. We picked up our defensive intensity, which led to more offensive opportunities. We started attacking the rim more aggressively rather than settling for the outside shot.”

Merrimack, which got 10 points and 16 rebounds from a Kelly Schatzlein , was  able to cut the Molloy lead to seven in the second half, but the Warriors got no closer.

Head Coach Tim O'Hagan liked the way his team played against the NE10 opponent. "It's a good start of the season against a very formidable opponent in Merrimack," O'Hagan said. "We did not get off to a great start, what changed was we started to get into a flow on offense. We ran better sets and were able to get to the basket, and eventually the foul line."

The Lions will host Concordia on Wednesday, November 16 at 7:00pm.