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RIVERDALE, NY – After ending 2016 with a victory, the Manhattan College women's basketball team looked to carry that momentum into its first game of the New Year. However, despite a combined 46 points from Nyasha Irizarry (Brooklyn, NY), Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) and Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY), the Jaspers (5-8, 1-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) came up on the short end of a 62-57 decision against Canisius (3-10, 2-2 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium on Monday afternoon.
Irizarry sank six three-pointers and finished with a team-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. Grimme added 16 points and nine boards (seven on the offensive end), and Tatum tallied 12 points. She also recorded three assists and four steals. Gabby Cajou (Stony Point, NY), meanwhile, contributed six points, four assists and two steals for the Jaspers, who outrebounded the Griffs 33-27. Manhattan shot 39.3 percent from both the field (22-of-56) and three-point range (11-of-28), while going 2-for-4 (50 percent) at the free throw line.
The Griffs took an early 8-5 lead before Tatum scored six straight points to put the Jaspers in front, 11-8. After a Maria Welch trey tied it, a Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, PA) layup gave the lead back to Manhattan, 13-11. However, Canisius sank a pair of free throws with one second left in the first quarter to knot the score at 13-13.
Canisius then opened the second quarter on a 17-9 run to open up a 30-22 advantage with 4:34 left before halftime. The Jaspers responded with an Irizarry trey and a Grimme layup, then, after a Canisius basket, Grimme connected for another layup before nailing a three to tie it at 32-32 with 39 seconds remaining in the half. The Griffs countered with a trey of their own, though, and took a 35-32 lead into the locker room.
It was 41-40 Canisius midway thru the third quarter when the Griffs went on an 8-0 rally to go up by nine, 49-40, and the margin was seven points, 49-42, heading into the final period. After a Sara Hinriksdottir three to start the fourth quarter extended the Griffs' cushion to 10 points, 52-42, Grimme sank a pair of free throws and Maeve Parahus (Congers, NY) drained a trey to cut Manhattan's deficit in half. However, Canisius responded with a 6-0 run of its own to take its largest lead of the game, 58-47, with 2:17 left.
An Irizarry trey sparked Manhattan's comeback attempt, and Cajou followed with a steal and layup to trim the margin to six, 58-52, at the 1:30 mark. Canisius made three free throws to push its lead back to nine, though, and the Griffs came away with a 62-57 victory.
Hinriksdottir had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead Canisius. Lauren D'Hont registered 12 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Margret Halfdanardottir also contributed 12 points to go along with three steals. The Griffs shot 50 percent (24-of-46) from the floor, 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from downtown, and 70 percent (7-of-10) at the charity stripe.
On Thursday, the Jaspers conclude their season-long four-game homestand with a 5 p.m. matchup against Rider (8-4, 2-1 MAAC). The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3 as part of a Manhattan basketball doubleheader. The Jasper men's team takes on Fairfield at 8 p.m., and that game can also be seen on ESPN3.
NOTES: Canisius has won four of the last five meetings between the squads and leads the all-time series 33-26…Manhattan used the same starting lineup (Cajou, Tatum, Irizarry, Grimme and Julie Høier) for the third straight game…The Jaspers' 11 treys were a season-high…Manhattan went an identical 11-for-28 on both two- and three-point attempts…The Jaspers also established a season-high with 14 steals…Grimme, who entered the game with one career three-pointer, sank two treys in the contest…Manhattan lost despite outrebounding its opponent for the first time this season…The St. Patrick's CYO team played a halftime game and took part in a postgame autograph session with the Jaspers.
