Late Comeback Falls Short In 62-55 Loss at Siena

Box Score

ALBANY, N.Y. - After trailing by as many as 22 points in the second half, the Manhattan College women's basketball team nearly came all the way back on Sunday afternoon.  The Jaspers (4-11, 1-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) got within five late before ultimately running out of time in a 62-55 loss to Siena (5-10, 1-3 MAAC) at the Times Union Center.

Siena led 53-31 with 7:57 remaining before Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) sank a three-pointer to begin the Manhattan comeback in earnest.  The Saints were in front 59-39 when Shayna Ericksen (Hackettstown, N.J.) was fouled at the 3:59 mark.  Ericksen made one of two free throws, then, after Siena's Tehresa Coles missed the front end of a one-and-one, Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) drained a pair at the line to trim the deficit to 17 points, 59-42.

Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) hit a layup and Isaacs added another trey before Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) converted two free throws to make it a 10-point game, 59-49, with 2:00 left.  After an Ericksen layup cut the margin to eight, a free throw by Ciara Stewart briefly stifled the Manhattan rally.  However, Skrec responded with four straight points to pull her team within five, 60-55, with 28 seconds to go.  Skrec went for a steal on the ensuing Siena possession, but ended up fouling Stewart, who hit both free throws to wrap up the Saints' 62-55 victory.

The final furious rally made the score the closest it had been since midway through the first half.  Siena scored the first six points of the game and led 10-2 before an Isaacs three-pointer trimmed the Jaspers' deficit to five points, 10-5, with 11:42 remaining in the first half.  However, the Saints responded with a 14-2 rally top open up a 21-7 advantage at the 7:16 mark.  Manhattan got back within six at 27-21 on a Skrec layup with just over a minute left in the period before a Kate Zarotney layup and a Clara Sole Anglada free throw gave Siena a 30-21 halftime cushion.

Siena opened the second half by going on a 10-2 run, increasing its advantage to 17 points, 40-23.  The Jaspers countered with a layup from Ericksen and a Roeder trey to get back within 12 at 40-28 with 14:02 left.  However, the Saints responded with back-to-back Zarotney layups that began a 13-3 rally and opened up Siena's largest advantage of the game, a 53-31 cushion at the 7:57 mark.

Roeder had a game-high 19 points, while Skrec tallied 15 points, marking her second straight game with a career-high in scoring column.  Skrec, who was in the game for all but a few seconds in the first half, also handed out six assists.  Isaacs sank four treys and finished with 12 points, and Ondya Morgan (New Brunswick, N.J.) registered a career-high six steals to go along with four assists.  Lawrence and Ericksen both tallied double-digit rebounds.  Lawrence pulled down a career-high 13 boards and Ericksen secured 10 rebounds.  As a team, Manhattan shot 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the field, 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from three-point land, and 90 percent (9-of-10) at the charity stripe.

Lily Grenci led Siena with 16 points and nine rebounds.  Zarotney went 7-for-7 from the field and finished with 14 points, while Coles recorded 10 points and six rebounds.  Ida Krogh tallied a game-high 10 assists, and Sole Anglada grabbed eight boards, as the Saints outrebounded the Jaspers 40-37.  Siena shot 40 percent (20-of-50) from the field, including 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from long range, and 66.7 percent (16-of-24) at the foul line.

The Jaspers, who've played five of their last seven games away from home, return to Draddy Gymnasium for a matchup with Loyola (6-8, 1-2 MAAC) on Friday.  It will be Manhattan's annual "Kid's Day Out" game, with tip-off scheduled for 11 a.m.