Mariners Women's Basketball fell to the Merritt College Thunderbirds at home on Wednesday. The visitors from Oakland showed little regard for the Mariners in a double-digit rout. Marin kept it close through the first half, but fatigue showed as the time ticked down and by the end Merritt easily slipped away with a 63-39 win. Vanessa Torres did all she could to keep Marin in touch but it was not enough to prevent the loss.
The Thunderbirds jumped out to an early 6-2 lead before extending to 15-9 at the end of the first quarter. In the second Marin narrowed the gap to 17-13 two minutes into quarter. Merritt counter punched with a 16-4 run to lead 29-17 before a late triple by Sophia Jacob put Marin within striking distance at 29-20 at halftime.
Marin's chance at a comeback was rudely thwarted to in the early stages of the third quarter as Merritt played lockdown defense. The Thunderbirds opened the quarter on a 9-2 run and led 46-25 in the final minutes of the third. A three-pointer cut Merritt's lead to 18 but it was too little to prevent a runaway win by the visitors. Merritt outscored Marin 17-11 in the final ten minutes to deliver a final score of 63-39.
Merritt College shot 38.6% from the floor and limited the Mariners to just 12 made field goals in the game. Marin did hold the advantage at the free throw line as they converted 11 of 17 attempts.
Turnovers and offensive rebounds were decisive as Merritt grabbed nine more offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 11 fewer times ultimately combining for 19 more shot attempts than Marin.
Vanessa Torres led the Mariners with 14 points including a pair of made threes. She was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line as well. Victoria Bing scored five points but added an impressive 19 rebounds.
Next up for the Mariners is a road game at Laney College on Wednesday, January 22nd.
