Box Score
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA – On Tuesday afternoon, the Manhattan College women's basketball team started a five-game road trip by taking on La Salle at Tom Gola Arena. The Jaspers (1-3) trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half before cutting the margin to seven, but would get no closer, as the Explorers (2-2) came away with a 61-48 victory.
La Salle quickly jumped ahead, scoring the first seven points of the game. After the Explorers went up 12-2 at the 12:34 mark of the first half, Manhattan responded with an 8-0 rally, getting within two, 12-10, on Shayna Ericksen's (Long Valley, N.J.) jumper midway through the period. La Salle immediately countered with a 5-0 spurt, though, making it 17-10. The Jaspers again cut the margin to three at 20-17 before the Explorers ended the half on a 9-2 run to extend the margin to 10 points, 29-19, at the break.
After four Manhattan free throws got the Jaspers within six at 29-23 early in the second half La Salle went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes, opening up is largest lead of the game, 40-23, with 14:07 remaining. With the Jaspers down 42-26 at the 11:08 mark, Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, Pa.) hit a runner to start a 12-3 spurt that cut Manhattan's deficit to seven, 45-38, with 7:44 left.
However, the Jaspers would pull no closer. A 12-4 La Salle run put the Explorers ahead by 15, 57-42, with under two minutes to go, and the final margin was 13 points, 61-48.
Kayla Grimme (Altoona, Pa.) recorded a double-double with 10 points (all in the second half) and 11 rebounds. She added three blocks, two assists and two steals. Ericksen, meanwhile, just missed a double-double of her own, finishing with 10 points and nine boards. Thompson tallied eight points and five assists, while Taylor Williams (Windsor, Conn.) contributed six points and five rebounds. The Jaspers were held to 29.6 percent (16-of-54) shooting, including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from beyond the arc. Manhattan went 11-for-15 (73.3 percent) at the free throw line.
For La Salle, Micahya Owens led the way with a game-high 23 points. Ebony Wells added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Siobhan Beslow and Khristin Lee pulled down seven rebounds apiece. The Explorers shot 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the floor and held a 42-36 advantage on the glass. La Salle went 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) from long range and 12-for-19 (63.2 percent) at the charity stripe.
The Jaspers are back in action on Sunday, when they visit Ohio (3-0) at 2 p.m. It will be Manhattan's first-ever visit to the Convocation Center, as well as the Jaspers' final game before the start of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play.
NOTES: It was the Jaspers' first visit to La Salle since Jan. 8, 1992, which was the Explorers' last season in the MAAC…La Salle has won five straight against Manhattan and leads the all-time series 19-7…The Jaspers were held under 50 points in consecutive games for the first time since a four-game streak from Feb. 15-24, 2013…Grimme notched her first double-double of the season and the fourth of her career…Manhattan hasn't had two players record double-doubles in the same game since Lindsey Loutsenhizer (13 pts, 12 reb) and Nadia Peters (10 pts, 11 reb) did so at Rider on Jan. 31, 2010…Pennsylvania natives Thompson and Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, Pa.), who both grew up about 30 minutes outside Philadelphia, both started the game…Manhattan has used a different starting lineup in every game this season…In addition to both being former MAAC members, each of Manhattan's first two road opponents has won a National Championship on the men's side (Holy Cross-1947, La Salle-1954).
