Box Score
Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – For the Manhattan College women's basketball team, the Heather Vulin Era began in thrilling fashion on Friday night. Maeve Parahus (Congers, NY) had a career-high 19 points, including the game-winning trey with 45 seconds remaining, as the Jaspers (1-0) opened the 2016-17 season with a 60-56 victory over Holy Cross (0-1) at Draddy Gymnasium.
Manhattan held a 55-48 lead midway thru the fourth quarter, but the Crusaders rallied to tie the score at 56-56 with 52 seconds left. After both sides took a timeout, the Jaspers swung the ball around to Parahus, who got an open look from three to put her team back in front, 59-56. Holy Cross missed two shots on the other end, and Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) corralled the rebound for Manhattan. She was fouled with 3.7 seconds remaining and drained the first free throw to ice the 60-56 win.
“We were looking for an open shot,” Parahus said about the game-winning three-pointer. “Coach has trust in me to shoot it, so I saw a little daylight and I put the ball up.”
Holy Cross led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter and held a 22-16 advantage when Parahus sank a three on four consecutive Manhattan possessions to bring the Jaspers within two, 30-28, with 4:42 left in the second. Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, PA) then hit a layup to tie the score at 30-30 before hitting another at the 1:44 mark to give Manhattan its first lead of the night. The Jaspers held Holy Cross scoreless over the last 5:19 of the first half and ended the second quarter on a 14-0 run to take a 36-30 lead into the locker room.
“I thought we were getting really good shots in the first quarter,” Vulin said. “I felt the shots that we missed we were finally making (during the 14-0 run). We did a nice job of regrouping and making plays.”
After Holy Cross scored the first seven points of the third quarter to go back in front, Guiton drained a layup on the other end to make it 38-37 Manhattan. Holy Cross regained the lead on an Infiniti Thomas-Waheed three-pointer, but Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) immediately countered with a bucket that evened the score at 40-40. Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT) then sank a trey at the 5:43 mark to put the Jaspers up 43-40. The run would eventually reach nine points, and Manhattan held a six-point cushion, 52-46, entering the final period.
Parahus sank five three-pointers in the victory. Guiton also recorded a career-high with 12 points, and she added seven rebounds. Williams finished with eight points and three steals, while Tatum registered seven points and four assists to go along with a career-best nine rebounds. Grimme, meanwhile, tallied seven points, seven boards and three blocks. The Jaspers shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field, 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from long range, and 50 percent (6-of-12) at the free throw line. Manhattan also held a 36-32 edge on the glass.
Thomas-Waheed paced the Crusaders with 19 points. She also tallied seven rebounds. Lauren Mains had a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards, while Tricia Byrne handed out three assists. As a team, Holy Cross went 21-for-52 (40.4 percent) from the floor, 4-for-16 (25 percent) from downtown, and 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) at the charity stripe.
The Jaspers return to action on Tuesday night, when they host Yale (0-0) at 7 p.m. Manhattan is looking to start the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign.
NOTES: Manhattan won its home opener for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign…This marks the fourth consecutive time that the Jaspers won a new head coach's first game with the program…The Jaspers and Crusaders met for the sixth straight season and 23rd time overall…Holy Cross leads the all-time series, 13-10…Prior to the game, Tatum was presented with a commemorative ball in recognition of her program-record 101 steals last season…Freshmen Gabby Cajou (Stony Point, NY), KellyAnne O'Reilly (Montville, NJ) and Julie Høier (Aabyoej, Denmark) all made their collegiate debuts in the game…Cajou distributed four assists, while O'Reilly finished with three points and two rebounds, and Høier contributed two points….Manhattan's starting lineup was Tatum, Williams, Parahus, Guiton and Grimme.
