NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The College of Saint Rose rallied from a 13 point halftime deficit to upend host Merrimack College 54-52 in Northeast-10 Conference action tonight. Junior guard Elizabeth Buckley converted a layup off an inbound pass with five seconds remaining to complete the comeback for the Golden Knights (11-7/6-7 NE-10) who have now won two straight after dropping three of their previous four games.

Saint Rose shot 50.0 percent (15-for-30) from both the floor overall and 3-point land (5-for-10) throughout the final 20 minutes after firing at merely a 21.4 percent (21-for-58) clip in the first half, including an 0-for-9 effort from 3-point territory. The Golden Knights also limited Merrimack (5-11/4-7 NE-10) to 23.1 percent shooting from long range, more than 11 percent lower than its season average of 34.7 percent (132-for-380).

Senior center Lauren Revesz registered her second “double-double” of the year behind a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Saint Rose. Senior guard Dana Brown had 13 points and Buckley added 12.

The Golden Knights found themselves in arrears 41-30 with 8:36 remaining when Brown drained a 3-pointer to spark a 20-4 jaunt. Buckley then finished a fastbreak off a Brown feed at the 3:34 mark to give Saint Rose its first lead, 46-45, since a 1-0 advantage in the game's opening moments. A jumper from junior guard Jenna Hughes and a Brown layup on the heels of a Merrimack turnover made it 50-45 Saint Rose with 2:06 to go.

However, Merrimack countered with five unanswered points to tie it 50-50 via a three point play by freshman forward Hannah DeGraffinreed and a jumper from senior guard Amanda Shannon with 51 seconds left.

Buckley finished in the paint 14 seconds later to make it 52-50 Saint Rose, but then missed the front end of a one-and-one with the chance to make it a two possession game. Merrimack called timeout and found Shannon who drained a jumper with 11 seconds left to knot it 52-52. The Golden Knights then called timeout themselves to set up a play that subsequently led to sophomore guard Lynsey Timbrouck inbounding the ball to Buckley who converted arguably the most prominent shot of her career.

It proved to be an improbable ending considering Saint Rose converted only one field goal in the game's opening 14 minutes. The end result was a 15 point, 18-3, deficit that grew to 16 points on three occasions throughout the ensuing four minutes, before the Golden Knights closed the period on a 6-3 run to go in the locker room down 29-16.

Saint Rose answered the bell for the second half with five unanswered points to get to within eight, 29-21, with 17:28 remaining. The Golden Knights kept whittling away at their shortfall, which led to Brown igniting the decisive surge throughout the game's final nine minutes.

Shannon wound up with 11 points, seven rebounds, a career-best eight assists and five steals while going nearly the entire 40 minutes to pace Merrimack. DeGraffinreed also had 11 points for the Warriors.

Both clubs are scheduled to continue their respective NE-10 slates this Saturday. Saint Rose visits Southern Connecticut State for a 1:30 pm start in New Haven, while Merrimack has a 1:00 pm home date with Stonehill, which sits atop the league standings with Franklin Pierce.

Box Score