Sophomore forward Madison Roman ’27 knows she and her Merrimack College women’s basketball teammates may not be the tallest in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), but that hasn’t stifled their competitiveness this season.
“Our height may be a disadvantage but our heart isn’t,” said Roman, who leads the team in rebounds and assists this season.
That grittiness and determination have been a staple of Merrimack’s first season in the MAAC and is a big reason why the team has collected more than 1,000 rebounds this year, tied for the most in the conference during the regular season. It is also the third year in a row the team has gone over 1,000 rebounds in a season.
“Before games, (Head Coach Kelly Morrone) will write on our whiteboard ‘Take theirs; Get us more’ because at the end of the day we know this is a game of possession,” said Roman. “We know we are a small group but that is when you have to dig in.”
Both Roman and Morrone credited the team’s male practice players for their work in prioritizing rebounding in practice. Many women’s college basketball programs will use male players to play against in practices.
“When you have someone in practice who is much taller than you and easily gets rebounds, that is definitely frustrating, but it makes you exponentially better,” said Morrone. “Our practice guys have been a big piece of the puzzle this season in developing this team’s identity as one that is going to claw and scrape and outwork you.”
Merrimack outworked the MAAC preseason poll that predicted the Warriors to finish second to last and miss the conference tournament. At season’s end, the Warriors clinched a spot in the 2025 MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship in Atlantic City, N.J.. The opening round is Tuesday, March 11.
This is the first time in program history Merrimack will play a conference tournament at a single, neutral site, and Morrone said she is reminding her players how special of an opportunity this is.
“Clinching a spot in the tournament in our first year in the MAAC is huge for us,” said Morrone. “Now it is just a matter of who wants it the most and who will take advantage of the opportunity. The overall growth of the College, the athletic department, the new conferences and the resources put into everything during the five years I have been here has been fun to be a part of.”
