Box Score
Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – Tied after three quarters, the Manhattan College women's basketball team (12-12, 9-6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) used a 12-0 run early in the fourth to build a 10-point lead en route to a 56-49 victory over Siena (12-14, 9-7 MAAC) on Sunday afternoon in the Jaspers' annual “Play 4 Kay” game at Draddy Gymnasium. With the victory, the Jaspers moved ahead of the Saints into fifth place in the MAAC standings.
The teams entered the final period deadlocked at 34-34. Siena took a two-point lead on a layup by Emmanuella Edoka. The Jaspers immediately responded with an offensive rebound and putback by Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, NJ) that knotted the score at 36-36 with 9:02 remaining. Ericksen's bucket started a 12-0 spurt, and Manhattan opened up a 46-36 cushion on a Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT) layup at the 5:22 mark.
Siena got back within six at 48-42 before layups by Williams and Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA) brought the margin back to 10 points, 52-42, with 2:03 remaining. Manhattan held on for a seven-point win, 56-49, its sixth in its last eight games.
“We felt like we had to get this one, and we played that way,” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “We played with a sense of urgency. I thought our defense was tremendous today. I was very happy with our effort all the way around.”
It was a very even contest throughout, as Manhattan's 10-point cushion was the largest of the game for either side. Siena built an early 8-2 lead in the first quarter, but the Jaspers ended the period on a 9-4 run to pull within one, 12-11, at the end of the frame.
After a bucket by Kollys Scarbrough gave the Saints a three-point edge to start the second quarter, the Jaspers went on a 7-0 spurt to go up 18-14 midway through the period. However, Siena claimed eight of the final 12 points in the half, and the sides went into the locker room even at 22-22.
A three-point play by Symone Kelly gave Siena a 25-22 lead early in the third quarter, but Manhattan responded with nine straight points, and the Jaspers took a 31-25 advantage on Thompson's trey with 5:57 remaining in the frame. Manhattan led 34-32 when Edoka was fouled with less than a second left in the quarter. She made both free throws to send the game into the final period knotted at 34-34.
Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) tallied a team-high 13 points to go along with six assists (and no turnovers) and five steals. Williams had nine points off the bench, while Ericksen finished with eight points. Blake Underhill (Edgewater, NJ) contributed seven points, four rebounds and four assists, and Thompson also collected seven points. Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA), meanwhile, registered six points, six boards and four blocks. Manhattan shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field, 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from long range, and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) at the free throw line.
Meghan Donohue and Scarbrough paced Siena with 13 points apiece. Scarbrough added a game-high nine boards, as the Saints outrebounded the Jaspers 39-25. Kelly finished with nine points, eight rebounds and four blocks, while Denisha Petty-Evans handed out five assists. As a team, the Saints shot 34.1 percent (15-of-44) from the floor, 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from downtown, and 85 percent (17-of-20) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan will now have four days off before beginning a busy stretch of five games in 10 days to conclude the regular season. The Jaspers start their annual Western New York trip on Friday night with a 7 p.m. matchup at Canisius (11-14, 6-10 MAAC) that will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Manhattan posted a 77-55 victory over the Griffs in Riverdale on Feb. 5.
NOTES: The Jaspers wore pink t-shirts, socks and shoelaces in support of the “Play 4 Kay” initiative for breast cancer awareness…Manhattan beat Siena at Draddy Gymnasium for the first time since a 56-53 triumph on Feb. 2, 2012…The Jaspers snapped a four-game losing streak against the Saints…Siena leads the all-time series 41-21…Manhattan's 25 rebounds were a season-low…The Jaspers were tied at halftime for the first time this season…Grimme now has 61 blocks on the season, which equals the second-highest single-season total in program history…Manhattan used its eighth different starting lineup of the season, with Maeve Parahus (Congers, NY) making her first start since Nov. 29.
