Box Score
Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – The Manhattan College women's basketball team concluded the regular season with a matchup against Rider on Sunday. Needing a win to lock up a first-round bye in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament, the Jaspers (14-15, 11-9 MAAC) suffered 56-49 loss to Rider (8-21, 5-15 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium.
Prior to the game, the Jaspers held their Senior Day ceremony honoring the Class of 2016. Manhattan recognized Kylla Champagne (Paterson, NJ), Alex Cohen (Nashua, NH), Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, NJ), Crystal Ross (Philadelphia, PA), Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA) and Blake Underhill (Edgewater, NJ), as well as team manager Ramon Howard.
Rider took a 5-2 lead on an early three-pointer by Robin Perkins before Maeve Parahus (Congers, NY) sank a trey to start 7-0 run that put the Jaspers up 9-5. Manhattan led 12-8 at the end of the first quarter, but the Broncs started the second period on a 10-2 spurt to take an 18-14 advantage. After a pair of Ross free throws got Manhattan back within two, 18-16, back-to-back Rider buckets pushed the Broncs' cushion back to six, 22-16. The margin was four, 22-18, at intermission.
After a Ross layup on the opening possession of the second half, the Broncs rallied for 15 of the next 19 points to take their largest lead of the game, a 37-24 advantage, with 3:56 left in the third quarter. Ross countered with a layup, though, and Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) followed with a trey to get the Jaspers within eight, 37-29. A Tatum jumper at the 1:15 mark brought Manhattan within three at 38-35, and it was 41-36 entering the final period.
A pair of Tatum foul shots with 7:02 remaining cut Manhattan's deficit to four, 43-39, before Perkins responded with eight points over a two-minute span to bring the margin back to 13 points, 52-39. The Jaspers countered with six straight points to pull within 52-45 with 2:42 remaining, but Manhattan wouldn't score again until a Parahus three-pointer with 33 seconds left. That trey made it 54-48, and that's as close as the Jaspers would get. With Manhattan forced to foul, Kamila Hoskova went to the line and sank a pair, then Tatum hit a free throw to cap the scoring in Rider's 56-49 victory.
Ross had 14 points and 13 rebounds for her first career double-double. Tatum finished with 11 points and four steals, while Parahus contributed eight points. Champagne pulled down eight rebounds in her final career home game, and Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) added six boards. Underhill, meanwhile, notched four steals and three assists. As a team, the Jaspers shot 28.3 percent (17-of-60) from the field, 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from long range, and 66.7 percent (12-of-18) at the charity stripe.
Perkins led the Broncs with a game-high 22 points. C'quoya Haughton tallied eight points and nine rebounds, while Hoskova collected seven points off the bench. Taylor Wentzel handed out three assists, and Manon Pellet grabbed seven rebounds, as Rider held a 40-35 edge on the glass. The Broncs shot 40.8 percent (20-of-49) from the floor, 50 percent (4-of-8) from three-point land, and 75 percent (12-of-16) at the free throw line.
As a result of the loss and Monmouth's victory over Saint Peter's, the Jaspers fell to the No. 6 seed in the MAAC Tournament and will have to play a first-round game. Manhattan takes on 11th-seeded Saint Peter's (4-25, 2-18 MAAC) at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. The winner will take on third-seeded Marist (15-15, 14-6 MAAC) in the quarterfinals at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
NOTES: The Jaspers and Broncs split the season series for the fourth consecutive year…Rider has won three of the last four meetings between the teams in Riverdale…Manhattan leads the all-time series 29-13…All five healthy seniors started the contest (Ericksen missed her fifth straight game due to injury)…It was Cohen's first career start, and she registered an assist and a rebound in three minutes of action…Ross became the fourth different Jasper to record a double-double this season…Underhill now has 102 assists on the season…The Jaspers were held under 50 points for the first time since a 52-48 loss at American on Dec. 20…Manhattan fell to 0-5 this season when being held under 50 points…The Jaspers finished in a three-way tie for fourth place with Fairfield and Monmouth, but lost the tiebreaker because of their combined 1-3 record against the Stags and Hawks.
