Box Score
Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – On Thursday night, the Manhattan College women's basketball team began a season-ending stretch of five games in 10 days by welcoming Siena to Draddy Gymnasium. It was a one-point game at halftime, but the Saints (15-11, 8-9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) opened the second half on a 7-0 run to open up an eight-point lead in an eventual 66-51 victory over the Jaspers (2-23, 1-15 MAAC).
Leading 29-28, Siena got the ball to begin the second half. Tehresa Coles hit a three on the opening possession to make it a four-point game, then the Saints got back-to-back layups from Coles and Margot Hetzke to increase their lead to eight, 36-28, with 18:33 to play.
Siena went up 12 when Ida Krogh sank a trey to make it 48-36 midway through the second half, but the Jaspers responded with a Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) bucket and a Nyasha Irizarry (Brooklyn, N.Y.) three-pointer. After another Krogh triple brought Siena's lead back to 10 points, 51-41, Taylor Williams (Windsor, Conn.) drove for a layup and Irizarry drained a three to cut Manhattan's deficit to five, 51-46, with 6:47 remaining.
However, that's as close as the Jaspers would get. A pair of Hetzke free throws started a 15-2 Siena run that put the Saints in front by a game-high 18 points, 66-48, before Williams nailed a trey to cap the scoring. The loss was Manhattan's 12th straight.
Things started off well for the Jaspers, as Irizarry sank a couple of early three-pointers to give Manhattan a 6-1 lead. Siena pulled in front 12-10 at the 13:02 mark of the first half, but Manhattan responded with a 9-2 rally, opening up a 19-14 cushion on Ashley Stec's (Cazenovia, N.Y.) jumper with 10:16 remaining before halftime. The Saints tied it on the next possession, at it would be even again at 25-25 and 27-27. After a Hetzke layup with 1:25 to go in the period broke the deadlock, the Jaspers had a chance to tie it when Blake Underhill (Edgewater, N.J.) was fouled with 5.2 seconds left until the break. She went 1-for-2 at the line, though, and Siena took a 29-28 lead into the locker room.
“We played a very good first half,” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “Unfortunately we weren't able to sustain it and come away with the victory.”
Stec just missed her second career double-double. She finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. Irizarry tallied 12 points on four treys, and Ericksen posted 11 points. They each recorded three steals, as well. Underhill distributed three assists for the Jaspers, who shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) as a team. Manhattan went 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) from three-point range and 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) at the charity stripe.
Hetzke led Siena with 20 points and seven boards, while Coles notched 14 points, six boards, five assists and three steals. Meghan Donohue had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Krogh finished with 10 points and five assists. Siena shot 46 percent (23-of-50) from the field and outrebounded Manhattan 34-30. The Saints shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from downtown and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) at the free throw line.
The Jaspers return to action with a 2 p.m. matchup at Saint Peter's (3-23, 3-14 MAAC) on Saturday. The Peacocks posted a 68-58 victory when the sides met in Riverdale on Feb. 7, but have lost four straight since then.
NOTES: Both teams wore pink t-shirts during pregame warmups, as well as pink socks and pink shoelaces as a part of the “Play 4 Kay” breast cancer awareness initiative…Siena has won eight of the last nine meetings between the teams, including three straight, and leads the all-time series 40-20…Alex Cohen (Nashua, N.H.) recorded her first career block in the contest…Stec led Manhattan in scoring for the first time this season…Stec's only career double-double came at Iona on Jan. 20, 2014…Irizarry sank four three-pointers for the fourth time this season…The Jaspers utilized their 16th different starting lineup of the season…The St. Gabriel's CYO team participated in a halftime game and postgame autograph session with the Jaspers.
