Box Score
Box Score
ALBANY, NY – The Manhattan College women's basketball team saw its 2016-17 season come to an end on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. The 10th-seeded Jaspers (8-22) dropped a 62-46 decision to seventh-seeded Monmouth (15-15) at the Times Union Center.
Monmouth scored the first seven points of the game and led 16-7 before Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, PA) hit a trey as the first-quarter buzzer sounded to trim Manhattan's deficit to six, 16-10. The Jaspers then started the second quarter on a 7-0 run, taking a 17-16 lead on Amani Tatum's (Cambria Heights, NY) steal and layup at the 8:12 mark of the period.
After a Tyese Purvis basket put Monmouth back in front, Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT) countered with a layup on the other end to make it 19-18 in favor of the Jaspers. The Hawks responded with eight straight points, though, to go up by seven, 26-19. Layups by Williams and Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) cut the margin to three points at 26-23 before Monmouth rattled off six straight points to bring its cushion back to nine, 32-23. Grimme, a Third Team All-MAAC selection, recorded the final four points of the half, as Manhattan's deficit was just five, 32-27, at intermission.
However, the Hawks went on a 19-0 run to start the second half, extending the margin to 51-27 with 2:45 left in the third quarter. After a Grimme layup, Tyese Purvis sank a trey to give Monmouth its largest lead of the contest, 54-29. Gabby Cajou (Stony Point, NY) then scored six straight points for Manhattan, and the Jaspers entered the final period trailing 56-35.
Manhattan used a 9-2 spurt to pull within 58-44 midway through the fourth quarter, but that's as close as it would get the rest of the way. With a 62-46 victory, Monmouth advanced to face second-seeded Rider in the quarterfinals.
Grimme led the way with a game-high 22 points. She added four rebounds and two blocks. Cajou finished with eight points and three assists, while Tatum distributed five assists. Williams, meanwhile, pulled down a team-best six rebounds. As a team, the Jaspers shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the field, 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from long range, and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) at the charity stripe.
McKinzee Barker had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Hawks. Kayla Shaw tallied 11 points, while Rosa Graham notched 10 points off the bench. Christina Mitchell recorded seven points and three blocks to go along with 11 rebounds, as Monmouth outrebounded Manhattan 49-29. Alexa Middleton added seven boards for the Hawks, who shot 39.7 percent (27-of-68) from the floor. Monmouth went 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from downtown and 3-for-6 (50 percent) at the free throw line.
“I really think we're going in the right direction,” Head Coach Heather Vulin said. “Hopefully next year we're sitting here after the Championship Game.”
NOTES: This was the third meeting between the teams in 15 days…The Jaspers and Hawks played in the MAAC Tournament for the first time…Monmouth leads the all-time series 13-10…Grimme scored 20 points for the third straight contest, the fourth time in five games, and the eighth time this season…She averaged 24 points in three matchups against Monmouth this season…Guiton's trey came on her first career three-point attempt…Manhattan used the same starting lineup for the third straight game, marking the first time this season that has occurred…The Jaspers tied a season-low by committing just 10 turnovers.
