NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.— The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team brought the energy on the road, but came up short against Merrimack, 74-65, on Wednesday.
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 5-12, 4-8 NEC
Merrimack: 8-12, 6-6 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Maiya Bergdorf: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Nikki Johnson: 13 points, 3 steals
Sonia Smith: 11 points, 3 assists
 
Up Next:
Sacred Heart travels to Bryant on Friday at 7 p.m.
 
Of Note
Merrimack used an 8-3 run in the final three minutes of the first quarter to build a 20-13 that Sacred Heart would not overcome. The Pioneers went on a 5-0 run to trim the lead to 20-18 at start the second. Merrimack responded with a 7-0 stretch to extend its lead and had the 37-27 advantage going into halftime.
 
SHU worked the lead down to five, 68-63, on a Maiya Bergdorf layup with 2:13 to play in the fourth. Unfortunately, the Pioneers would only score two points the rest of the game and the Warriors made all four of their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
Bergdorf was the leading scorer for the first time in her Pioneer career as she racked up a career-high 15 points along with seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Nikki Johnson finished with 13 and three steals while Sonia Smith notched 11 points and three assists.
 
Merrimack recorded 18 points off 17 Pioneer turnovers and outscored Sacred Heart 40-26 in the paint. The Warriors also outrebounded the visitors, 42-33. Sacred Heart could not take advantage of the free throw line, going 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from the charity stripe.