Box Score
Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – In its final home game of 2015, the Manhattan College women's basketball team (5-5) rallied from an early 10-point deficit to post a 61-53 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn (1-7) on Friday night at Draddy Gymnasium. It was the Jaspers' third straight home win, as well as their third victory in their last four games.
St. Francis Brooklyn jumped out of the gate quickly. After the teams traded layups in the first 1:30 of the game, the Terriers went on a 12-2 run to open up a 14-4 advantage with 2:11 left in the first quarter. A pair of Nyasha Irizarry (Brooklyn, NY) free throws halted the St. Francis Brooklyn run, and Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, NJ) hit a jumper late in the period to cut Manhattan's deficit to six, 14-8, after the opening 10 minutes.
The Jaspers continued their rally in the second quarter, pulling within one at 18-17 on an Irizarry three-pointer midway through the period, then taking a 19-18 lead on a Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT) layup with 4:37 remaining. The Terriers immediately countered with a trey before Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) sank a pair of free throws to tie it at 21-21. After St. Francis Brooklyn went back in front, 23-21, Manhattan got a three-ball from Williams to regain the lead. Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) then drained a deep trey as the half closed to give the Jaspers a 27-23 edge at intermission.
“We had a really good second quarter,” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “Then we really took control midway through the third quarter. I thought we closed it out well, too.”
After St. Francis Brooklyn scored the first five points of the second half to go back in front, Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA) hit a three from in front of the Manhattan bench to give the Jaspers the lead for good. Tatum followed with a conventional three-point play to make it a five-point game, 33-28, as the Jaspers ended the third quarter on a 15-5 spurt to open up a 42-33 cushion.
Manhattan's advantage reached a game-high 16 points at 55-39 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Terriers battled back. St. Francis Brooklyn went on an 11-3 run over the next three minutes to pull within eight, 58-50. However, Irizarry sank a trey on the other end to bring the lead back to 11, and the Jaspers held on for a 61-53 victory.
Three Jaspers scored in double-figures, led by Tatum's 15 points. She also handed out five assists. Playing in her 100th career game, Ericksen tallied 12 points and four rebounds, while Irizarry also had 12 points. Grimme, meanwhile, finished with seven points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Blake Underhill (Edgewater, NJ) distributed three assists, as Manhattan recorded 15 assists compared to just nine turnovers. The Jaspers shot 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from downtown, and 70 percent (7-of-10) at the free throw line.
Leah Fechko had a double-double for St. Francis Brooklyn with 19 points and 10 rebounds. She added six assists and three steals. Rachel Iozzia contributed 12 points off the bench, and Alex Delaney finished with eight points. Maria Palarino handed out four assists to go along with five boards. The Terriers outrebounded the Jaspers 37-34 and shot 37.3 percent (19-of-51) from the floor. St. Francis went 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from three-point land and 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) at the charity stripe.
On Sunday, Manhattan concludes its non-conference schedule with a 5:30 p.m. matchup at American (1-8). It will be the start of a four-game road trip for the Jaspers.
“What we're looking for is to have a winning record (at the end of non-conference play),” Olenowski said. “We know American's a really tough team, but I think we're going to go down there and play well. We're looking forward to a great game against American.”
NOTES: Manhattan is 15-1 all-time against St. Francis Brooklyn and has beaten the Terriers 15 straight times…It was the first matchup between the squads since a 50-37 Manhattan win on Dec. 28, 2011…The Jaspers improved to 2-0 this season against teams that participated in the 2015 NCAA Tournament…Manhattan won despite being outrebounded for the second time this season…The Jaspers committed single-digit turnovers for the first time since only turning the ball over nine times against Niagara in the MAAC Tournament on March 5, 2015…Manhattan took the court for just the second time in 10 days…It was the Jaspers' only home contest in a seven-game stretch…Manhattan doesn't play at Draddy Gymnasium again until Jan. 12.
