Jaspers Make Short Trip to Iona On Sunday

Manhattan-Iona Game Notes

GAMEDAY
The Jaspers (9-8, 3-2 MAAC) make the short trip to New Rochelle this afternoon for a matchup with Iona (7-9, 3-2 MAAC) at the Hynes Athletic Center.  Manhattan snapped a two-game losing streak with a 73-51 home win over Canisius on Friday.  Iona has won three of its last four, including a 64-50 victory over Rider on Friday afternoon.  Including today, Manhattan played six games in 13 days to open its MAAC schedule.  After today, the Jaspers will have a week off before hosting Loyola next Sunday.

THE MANHATTAN JASPERS
Manhattan (9-8, 3-2 MAAC) picked up a 73-51 victory over Canisius on "Kid's Day" at Draddy Gymnasium on Friday.  Senior guard Schyanne Halfkenny led the Jaspers with a career-high 22 points against the Griffs.  She paces Manhattan with 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in MAAC play.  Overall, Halfkenny ranks third on the team in scoring (10.2 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.3 rpg).  Senior forward Lindsey Loutsenhizer leads the Jaspers in both categories.  She notches 12.8 points and 5.9 boards per contest, while also averaging 2.6 assists per outing.  Sophomore guard Monica Roeder tallies 11.0 points per game, and she drains a team-best 1.9 three-pointers per contest.  Senior forward Nadia Peters contributes 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while also leading Manhattan in steals (2.6 spg) and blocks (1.1 bpg).  Sophomore guard Allison Skrec hands out a team-leading 2.7 assists per outing.

THE IONA GAELS 
Iona (7-9, 3-2 MAAC) has won three of its last four games, including a 64-50 victory over Rider on Friday afternoon.  The Gaels are led by freshman guard Damika Martinez, who averages 15.5 points per game.  Martinez, the current MAAC Player of the Week, tallies a MAAC-leading 22.8 points per outing in conference games.  Senior guard Tomica Bacic records 7.8 points per contest to go along with a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game.  Senior guard Suzi Fregosi is the MAAC leader in assists.  She hands out 4.6 assists per game.  Freshman guard Aleesha Powell, the current MAAC Rookie of the Week, paces the Gaels with 1.8 steals per outing, while sophomore forward/center Sabrina Jeridore records 1.8 blocks per game.  As a team, Iona leads the MAAC with 3.9 blocks per outing.  Iona is also the highest-scoring team in the league.  The Gaels tally 62.0 points per contest.

SERIES HISTORY
The Jaspers won all three meetings with the Gaels last season, including a 59-47 triumph in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament.  Manhattan also posted a 63-47 victory at Draddy Gymnasium on Feb. 14, 2011, and a 57-51 win at the Hynes Athletic Center on Feb. 27, 2011.  Overall, this is the 65th meeting between the schools, and Manhattan holds a 43-21 edge in the all-time series.

LAST TIME OUT
On "Kid's Day Out" at Draddy Gymnasium, the Jaspers hit eight of their first nine shots and never looked back, cruising to a 73-51 victory over Canisius on Friday.  Manhattan scored the first five points of the game and led 17-4 barely four minutes in.  The Jaspers made their first five three-point attempts, going 7-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, while shooting 63 percent (17-of-27) overall en route to a 45-24 halftime lead.  It was more of the same in the second half, as the Jaspers snapped a two-game losing streak with the 73-51 triumph.  Overall, Manhattan shot a season-high 54.3 percent (25-of-46) from the field and 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from three-point range in the.  Eight different Jaspers had at least five points, led by Schyanne Halfkenny's career-high 22-point outing.