NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – A strong start and a double-double from SHAKERA BARNES was not enough for St. Edward's University Women's Basketball as they fell to Merrimack on Saturday, 58-53. The loss moves the Hilltoppers to 2-3 while the Warriors improve to 3-4.
 
Barnes' first double-double of the season came by way of 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. The Toppers leading scorer on the day was MILEKA LOYDRAKE with 14.  HALEY JOLY collected multiple blocks for the third time season as she denied two shots. Loydrake also paced the Hilltoppers with four steals while Barnes led in assists with three. As a team, St. Edward's outscored Merrimack 14-9 in second-chance points and combined for five blocks and seven steals.
 
"I thought we came of the gates really well and did a good job of executing our game plan to start the game," said head coach J.J. Riehl. "Unfortunately, consistency has been our problem thus far this season. We weren't able to maintain our execution as we started substituting. Obviously there were positive takeaways from today, but the problem remains the same. As a young and inexperienced team we are waiting for someone else to step up instead of doing it ourselves. Fortunately, this is short lived and we get another opportunity to gain experience and grow up tomorrow."
 
The game opened with a quick basket from the Warriors, but the Hilltoppers responded with 12 unanswered points to make it 12-2. Merrimack scored 10-straight points of its own to tied the game at 12, and a layup at the buzzer ended the first quarter with St. Edward's down by two.
 
In the second period the lead changed hands four times as CARISSA DIAZ scored five of her seven points to keep the visitors in the game. With the score tied at 26, a free throw from Barnes sent the Toppers into halftime up by one.
 
Despite a strong start to the game by St. Edward's, Merrimack would outscore the Hilltoppers 12-8 in the third quarter behind an 8-0 run; and edge the visitors 20-18 in the fourth to snap a two-game losing streak.
 
Coach Riehl and her team continue play in the northeast on Sunday against Southern Connecticut State at 12 p.m. (CT). Live stats and video can be found online at GoHilltoppers.com.