Merrimack Warriors (8-12, 4-7 MAAC) at Niagara Purple Eagles (1-17, 0-10 MAAC)
Lewiston, New York; Thursday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Merrimack faces Niagara after Thalia Shepard scored 20 points in Merrimack’s 65-63 loss to the Rider Broncs.
The Purple Eagles are 1-6 on their home court. Niagara averages 23.2 turnovers per game and is 1-10 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents.
The Warriors have gone 4-7 against MAAC opponents. Merrimack is seventh in the MAAC allowing 64.0 points while holding opponents to 42.0% shooting.
Niagara scores 58.4 points per game, 5.6 fewer points than the 64.0 Merrimack allows. Merrimack averages 58.6 points per game, 25.8 fewer points than the 84.4 Niagara gives up.
The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.
TOP PERFORMERS: Safiatu Kolliegbo is averaging 13.8 points and 2.4 steals for the Purple Eagles. Talia Dial is averaging eight points and 1.5 steals over the past 10 games.
Lydia Melaschenko is shooting 37.1% from beyond the arc with 1.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Warriors, while averaging 5.5 points. Shepard is averaging 14.1 points and 2.3 steals over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Purple Eagles: 0-10, averaging 54.1 points, 25.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 12.2 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 30.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.9 points per game.
Warriors: 3-7, averaging 59.9 points, 34.8 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 8.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 37.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.2 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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