Jaspers Open MAAC Tournament Against Siena On Friday

Manhattan-Siena Game Notes

GAMEDAY
The Jaspers (16-14) begin their pursuit of a fifth MAAC Tournament title with this morning's quarterfinal game against Siena (11-16) at the MassMutual Center.  Manhattan earned the No. 3 seed after posting a 10-8 record in MAAC play, and Siena enters the MAAC Tournament as the No. 6 seed after finishing 9-9 in the MAAC.  The Jaspers concluded the regular season with a 56-44 loss at Niagara on Sunday afternoon, while the Saints picked up a 69-57 victory at Canisius in their regular season finale.

THE MANHATTAN JASPERS
Manhattan (16-14) earned the No. 3 seed in the MAAC Tournament for the second straight season after going 10-8 in conference play.  The Jaspers are coming off a 56-44 loss at Niagara in their regular season finale on Sunday.  Senior forward Lindsey Loutsenhizer was named to the All-MAAC Second Team after leading the Jaspers in scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 rpg).  Loutsenhizer also averages a team-best 2.4 assists per game and ranks fourth in the MAAC with 2.1 steals per contest.  Senior guard/forward Schyanne Halfkenny earned a selection to the All-MAAC Third Team.  She averages 10.9 points and 4.8 boards per outing.  In MAAC play, Halfkenny led the Jaspers with 12.1 points per game.  Sophomore guard Monica Roeder tallies 9.5 points a night and ranks fourth in the MAAC in three-pointers (1.9 per game).  Senior forward Nadia Peters ranks third in the MAAC in steals (2.2 spg).  She also ranks fifth in the league with 1.1 blocks per game.

THE SIENA SAINTS
Siena (11-16) picked up a 69-57 victory at Canisius in its regular season finale on Sunday.  The Saints finished tied for fourth in the MAAC with a 9-9 conference record, and enter the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed.  Siena is led by junior forward Lily Grenci, who was selected to the All-MAAC First Team.  Grenci ranks second in the conference in scoring (15.4 ppg), and she also averages a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game.   In conference play, Grenci tallied 16.1 points and 8.0 boards per outing.  Senior guard Cristina Centeno was a Third Team All-MAAC selection.  She paces the squad with 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals per contest.  Centeno also contributes 10.8 points a night.  Senior guard Maja Gerlyng tallies 9.7 points per game, and she's Siena's top three-point shooter.  Gerlyng drains 1.3 treys per outing.  Freshman guard Tehresa Coles is second on the team in both assists (2.5 apg) and steals (1.9 spg).

SERIES HISTORY
Manhattan and Siena split the season series in 2011-12, with each team winning on its home floor.  The Jaspers notched a 56-53 victory at Draddy Gymnasium on Feb. 2, and the Saints posted a 61-56 win in Loudonville on Feb. 17.  This is the 53rd all-time meeting, and Siena leads the series 33-19.  Of the 52 previous matchups, six took place in the MAAC Tournament.  Each team has won three times in the postseason.  The last MAAC Tournament meeting between Manhattan and Siena was the 2003 Championship Game, when the Jaspers earned their fourth MAAC title with a 65-57 triumph.

SEASON SERIES
Feb. 2-Manhattan 56, Siena 53
Manhattan picked up a 56-53 victory over Siena at Draddy Gymnasium on Feb. 2.  The Jaspers held a 25-19 advantage at halftime and led 55-45 with 3:36 remaining  before Siena went on an 8-0 run to pull within two, 55-53, with 1:04 left.  The Saints had the ball and used their final timeout with 24 seconds to go, but Toni-Ann Lawrence got a steal and handed off to Maggie Blair, who hit a free throw to make it a three-point game with seven seconds remaining.  Siena fired a trey at the buzzer, bit it was off the mark, giving John Olenowski his 50th win as Manhattan's head coach.  Schyanne Halfkenny paced Manhattan with 13 points, while Lindsey Loutsenhizer added 12 points and seven boards.  Monica Roeder tied a career-high with eight rebounds to go along with nine points.
Feb. 17-Siena 61, Manhattan 56
The Jaspers rallied back from 15 points down with five minutes left to within four, but ultimately came up short, 61-56 against Siena at UHY Court at the Alumni Recreation Center on Feb. 17.  After leading 33-25 at halftime, the Saints extended their cushion to 53-38 with 5:02 left before Alyssa Herrington sank a trey to start the Manhattan comeback.  Three-pointers on their next two possessions got the Jaspers within six, then an Ashley Stec layup trimmed it to four.  However, Siena scored the next five points to bring the margin back to nine, 58-49, with 1:30 remaining, and the Saints held on for a 61-56 triumph.  Herrington drained five three-pointers in the game and finished with a team-high 19 points, while Schyanne Halfkenny added 14 points and Toni-Ann Lawrence grabbed eight rebounds.

LAST TIME OUT
Manhattan rallied from 12 points down to take the lead in the second half, but ultimately came up short, 56-44, against Niagara in the regular season finale at the Gallagher Center on Sunday.  Niagara led 30-26 at the break and held a 35-28 advantage before the Jaspers rallied for nine straight points to take their first lead of the game.  After a Monica Roeder three-pointer put Manhattan in front, 37-35, with 10:55 remaining, the Purple Eagles used a 17-3 run to regain a 12-point edge, 52-40, with 4:16 left.  Manhattan got back within eight at 52-44, but the Purple Eagles went 4-for-4 at the line down the stretch to wrap up a 56-44 victory.  Schyanne Halfkenny led the Jaspers with 15 points, while Lindsey Loutsenhizer and Nadia Peters contributed 10 points apiece.

TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
The Jaspers are seeded third in the MAAC Tournament for the second consecutive season, and they take on sixth-seeded Siena in today's quarterfinals.  The winner of today's game advances to the MAAC semifinals tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. against either No. 2 Fairfield or the winner of Thursday's first round game between No. 7 Iona and No. 10 Rider.  That contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.  The semifinal winners will then have a day off before Monday's MAAC Championship Game.