Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College women's basketball team trimmed a nine-point second-half deficit to two with 2:26 remaining in Sunday afternoon's matchup with Fairleigh Dickinson. However, the comeback attempt came up just short, as the Jaspers (1-3) fell to the Knights (1-4) by a 53-47 count at Draddy Gymnasium.
Fairleigh Dickinson took a 43-34 advantage on Danielle Pankey's three-pointer at the nine-minute mark before Manhattan rallied for nine of the next 11 points. Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) capped the run when she drained a trey to pull the Jaspers within two, 45-43, with 2:26 left. After a Pankey free throw and a layup by Amanda Andrades increased the Knights' lead to five, 48-43, Shayna Ericksen (Hackettstown, N.J.) hit a layup to make it a three-point game, 48-45, with 38 seconds to go.
With the Jaspers forced to foul to stop the clock, Pankey drained a pair at the line to put Fairleigh Dickinson up five. Ericksen missed a trey on the other end, and FDU's Mariah Nunes grabbed the rebound. Nunes sank both free throws to increase the Knights' advantage to 52-45 with 13 seconds remaining. Manhattan got a layup from Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) before Erika Livermore went 1-for-2 at the line to finish off the scoring in Fairleigh Dickinson's 53-47 win.
Manhattan held FDU to just 23 second-half points, and the Knights were held to 23.3 percent (7-of-30) shooting in the period. Fairleigh Dickinson shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) in the first half to take a 30-22 lead at intermission.
The Jaspers took an early 8-6 lead on a Roeder three-pointer 3:47 into the game, but Pankey countered with a trey of her own to start a 16-2 run that gave FDU a 22-10 advantage. Manhattan rallied for 12 of the next 18 points, pulling within six at 28-22 on Ondya Morgan's (New Brunswick, N.J.) jumper with 1:44 left before halftime, before a Pankey layup gave the Knights a 30-22 cushion after 20 minutes.
Ericksen had her first career double-double for the Jaspers. She posted 12 points and 11 rebounds. Roeder tallied a game-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Lawrence added 11 points and six boards. Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) and Morgan each handed out four assists. As a team, the Jaspers shot 37.3 percent (19-of-51) from the field, 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from three-point range, and 75 percent (3-of-4) at the free throw line.
Livermore paced the Knights with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Pankey added 16 points and four assists, and Desiree Crawford tallied eight points. Stephanie Isaacs recorded four steals for Fairleigh Dickinson. The Knights shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the field as a team and outrebounded the Jaspers 34-33. FDU went 4-for-16 (25 percent) from downtown and 9-for-14 (64.3 percent) at the charity stripe.
Up next, the Jaspers make the short trip across town for the annual "Battle of the Bronx" against rival Fordham (4-1). Game time is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Fordham's Rose Hill Gym.
NOTES: It was the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 15, 2007, and Fairleigh Dickinson has now won two straight in the series...Manhattan leads the all-time series 11-6...The loss snapped the Jaspers' six-game winning streak against members of the Northeast Conference...The contest began a span where the Jaspers play four out of five at home...Manhattan used a different starting lineup for the third straight game, with Roeder re-entering the starting five...Ericksen's double-double was the first by a Jasper since Lindsey Loutsenhizer tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iona on Feb. 15, 2012...Roeder was the first Manhattan player to drain five three-pointers in one game since Alyssa Herrington had five at Siena on Feb. 17, 2012...FDU's Stephanie Isaacs is the identical twin sister of Manhattan's Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.).
