MFA Northwest

01/28 03:43 CST Iona visits Manion and Merrimack Iona visits Manion and Merrimack By The Associated Press Iona Gaels (13-8, 6-5 MAAC) at Merrimack Warriors (10-9, 7-3 MAAC) North Andover, Massachusetts; Thursday, 11 a.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Merrimack takes on Iona after Molly Manion scored 27 points in Merrimack's 81-68 victory against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers. The Warriors are 5-3 on their home court. Merrimack has a 3-7 record against opponents over .500. The Gaels are 6-5 in MAAC play. Iona is seventh in the MAAC with 12.6 assists per game led by Ella Fajardo averaging 2.8. Merrimack is shooting 39.7% from the field this season, the same percentage Iona allows to opponents. Iona averages 59.9 points per game, 6.5 fewer points than the 66.4 Merrimack allows to opponents. The Warriors and Gaels match up Thursday for the first time in conference play this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Paloma Garcia is averaging 7.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 steals for the Warriors. Lydia Melaschenko is averaging 14.2 points over the last 10 games. Isabellah Middleton is averaging 13.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals for the Gaels. Zoey Ward is averaging 12.7 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Warriors: 7-3, averaging 66.4 points, 38.1 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 7.1 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 38.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.5 points per game. Gaels: 6-4, averaging 62.6 points, 31.9 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 8.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 36.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.0 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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