WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

01/13 03:43 CST Iona hosts Merrimack after Ward's 24-point outing Iona hosts Merrimack after Ward's 24-point outing By The Associated Press Merrimack Warriors (8-7, 5-1 MAAC) at Iona Gaels (10-7, 3-4 MAAC) New Rochelle, New York; Wednesday, 11 a.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Iona plays Merrimack after Zoey Ward scored 24 points in Iona's 60-51 victory against the Canisius Golden Griffins. The Gaels are 5-3 on their home court. Iona has a 1-0 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer. The Warriors are 5-1 in conference play. Merrimack is 2-0 in one-possession games. Iona is shooting 35.6% from the field this season, 3.1 percentage points lower than the 38.7% Merrimack allows to opponents. Merrimack has shot at a 40.2% clip from the field this season, the same as opponents of Iona have averaged. The Gaels and Warriors meet Wednesday for the first time in conference play this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Isabellah Middleton is averaging 13.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals for the Gaels. Ward is averaging 15.0 points over the last 10 games. Lydia Melaschenko is shooting 40.0% from beyond the arc with 3.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Warriors, while averaging 11.5 points. Oralye Kiefer is averaging 12.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Gaels: 5-5, averaging 64.7 points, 31.0 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 8.2 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 37.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.8 points per game. Warriors: 6-4, averaging 65.7 points, 35.9 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 8.7 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 38.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.4 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.