Box Score
Box Score
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Six weeks ago, the Manhattan College women's basketball team beat Rider 55-52 at Draddy Gymnasium. Looking for a season sweep over the Broncs (10-16, 7-9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) on Sunday, the Jaspers (2-22, 1-14 MAAC) came up short, dropping a 65-40 decision at Alumni Gymnasium.
Rider scored the first nine points of the game and led 13-2 before Manhattan went on a 7-2 rally to pull within five, 14-9, with 14:17 left in the first half. After Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, Pa.) hit a layup to make it 19-11 Rider with 11:41 remaining before halftime, Emily Fazzini drained a trey for the Broncs to give her team a 22-11 advantage. It would stay that way for seven minutes until Fazzini hit a pair of free throws at the 3:29 mark. Those foul shots started an 8-2 Rider run to end the half, as the Broncs held a 31-13 edge at intermission.
The Jaspers trimmed their deficit to 14 at 33-19 early in the second half, but Rider responded with a 13-2 spurt to increase its cushion to 25 points, 46-21. The margin reached a game-high 29 points at 63-34 with 2:42 remaining before Manhattan ended the contest by scoring six of the final eight points. With a 65-40 defeat, the Jaspers have now dropped 11 straight.
Kayla Grimme (Altoona, Pa.) paced the Jaspers with 10 points and six rebounds, and Taylor Williams (Windsor, Conn.) added nine points on three treys. As a team, Manhattan shot 28.9 percent (13-of-45) from the field, 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from long range, and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) at the free throw line.
Fazzini had a game-high 22 points for Rider, while Marritta Gillcrease tallied 12 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals. Robin Perkins added 11 points and five assists, and Manon Pellet handed out 10 assists. Julia Duggan grabbed eight rebounds for the Broncs, who held a 30-28 edge on the boards. Rider shot 53.1 percent (26-of-49) from the floor, including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from three-point land, and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan returns home on Thursday to begin a busy stretch of five games in 10 days to end the regular season. The Jaspers welcome Siena (14-11, 7-9 MAAC) to Draddy Gymnasium on “Play 4 Kay” night for breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to come to the 7 p.m. game wearing pink, and both teams will wear pink shoelaces and t-shirts in support of the cause.
NOTES: The Jaspers and Broncs split the season series for the second straight year…Manhattan leads the all-time series 28-12…The Jaspers utilized a different starting lineup for the third consecutive game…With four rebounds, Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) moved past Joann Nwafili into 15th place on Manhattan's all-time rebounding chart…Monica Roeder, the Jaspers' all-time leader in three-point field goals, was in attendance…This was the Jaspers' only contest in an eight-day span from Jan. 11-19…Sunday's game was Rider's “Play 4 Kay” contest…Manhattan Assistant Coach Christine Sikiric played at Rider from 2004-06, while Assistant Coach Brianna Griffin's husband, John, is an assistant for the Rider men's team.
