Box Score
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Manhattan College women's basketball team opened its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) schedule on Friday night. Despite Shayna Ericksen's (Long Valley, N.J.) third double-double of the season, the Jaspers (1-5, 0-1 MAAC) came up on the short end of a 55-44 decision against Canisius (2-3, 1-0 MAAC) at the Koessler Athletic Center.
It was a defensive struggle early on, as Manhattan took a 6-1 lead on a Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, Pa.) steal and coast-to-coast layup six minutes into the game. However, Lauren D'Hont sank a layup on the other end to start an 11-0 run that gave Canisius a 12-6 advantage midway through the first half.
After a Maeve Parahus (Congers, N.Y.) three-pointer pulled the Jaspers within one at 16-15, the Griffs responded with an 11-0 spurt to open up a 27-15 cushion with 1:44 remaining before halftime. Parahus then sank another long ball at the 49-second mark to make it a nine-point game, 27-18, at intermission.
Canisius extended the margin to 11 points early in the first half before a four-point play by Alex Cohen (Nashua, N.H.) cut Manhattan's deficit to 34-27 with 15:12 left. After the Griffs got back out to a 13-point advantage at 42-29, a Taylor Williams (Windsor, Conn.) trey followed by a layup and free throw from Ericksen pulled the Jaspers within seven, 42-35, with 9:14 to play. It would get no closer, though, as Canisius responded with a 12-2 rally to increase its lead to a game-high 17 points, 54-37, and the Griffs ended up posting a 55-44 win.
Ericksen finished with 11 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds. Parahus contributed nine points on three treys, while Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) tallied seven points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Kayla Grimme (Altoona, Pa.) had three blocks for the Jaspers. As a team, Manhattan shot just 27.8 percent (15-of-54) from the field and 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from three-point land. The Jaspers were 8-for-10 (80 percent) at the free throw line.
Kayla Hoohuli led three Canisius players in double-figures with a game-high 16 points to go along with six rebounds. Tiahana Mills added 11 points and five boards, while Crystal Porter had 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Tamara Miskovic handed out five assists for the Griffs, who shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the floor. Canisius went 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) from long range and 6-for-13 (46.2 percent) at the charity stripe. The Griffs also outrebounded the Jaspers 42-41.
Manhattan continues its four-game road trip with a 1 p.m. matchup at Niagara (3-3, 1-0 MAAC) on Sunday. The Purple Eagles defeated Saint Peter's 73-40 in their MAAC opener on Friday. Manhattan and Niagara split the season series in 2013-14, with the road team winning each game.
NOTES: It was the Jaspers' earliest MAAC opener since Dec. 5, 2008, when they met Loyola at Draddy Gymnasium…Manhattan opened its MAAC schedule against Canisius for the second straight season…The Jaspers began conference play with the Buffalo trip for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign…Manhattan lost its first MAAC game for the first time in four years…Canisius snapped Manhattan's two-game winning streak in the series and holds a 30-25 edge in 65 all-time meetings…The Jaspers utilized the same starting lineup in back-to-back games for the first time this season…Ericksen had double-doubles in each of the Jaspers' first two games this season and now has five for her career…She previously grabbed 12 rebounds two other times, including the season-opener against Fairleigh Dickinson…Two Jaspers reached double-figures in rebounds in the same game for the first time since Toni-Ann Lawrence (13) and Ericksen (10) did it at Siena on Jan. 13, 2013…With a miss at the 2:09 mark of the second half, Stec saw her streak of 22 consecutive made free throw attempts (dating back to Feb. 15, 2014 at Niagara) come to an end.
