WBB Gears Up For Last Home Contest Of 2018

Riverdale, NY - Manhattan women's basketball will host Sacred Heart in the team's last home match-up of the year on Sunday, December 16. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Draddy Gymnasium. 

The game marks the Jaspers' annual Kids Takeover day, where children in sixth grade and younger participate in game day operations, from stats to PA announcing and more! For more information, and to register, fans can visit the Takeover page on gojaspers.com.

Game Notes:

Last Outing
Junior Tuuli Menna (Helsinki, Finland / Richmond) led Manhattan in two columns in the Jaspers' 60-44 loss to Wright State on Sunday, December 9, scoring 11 points and pulling down eight rebounds. She added a season-high three assists on the day, with two steals and no turnovers, earning herself a spot on the Manhattan Classic All-Tournament Team.

Manhattan earned a season-low 11 turnovers against the Raiders, besting their previous season-low of 13 earned against Fordham on December 1. Manhattan also pulled down 44 boards against Wright State, a season-high, with nine players contributing to the effort and five earning five rebounds or more. 

The Rankings
As of December 13, the Jaspers sit at 50th in all of Division I in steals this season (93), and 51st in steals per game (10.3), a category in which Manhattan leads the MAAC.

Allowing 60.3 points per game, the Jaspers rank second in the league in scoring defense and third in three-point scoring defense (.304). Sophomore Courtney Warley (West Chester, PA / Bishop Shanahan) ranks second in the league in rebounds per game (7.6), while taking first place in offensive rebounds per game (3.6). Freshman D'yona Davis (Bronx, NY / Truman) sits at eighth in the MAAC in steals per game (1.9), while Candela Abejon (Gijon, Spain / USC) ranks ninth in three-point field goal percentage (.387).

Special Ties
Manhattan Head Coach Heather Vulin and Assistant Coach Callan Taylor both hold special ties to Sacred Heart. Vulin served on the women's basketball staff at the school from 2002-08, and also met her husband, Kevin, a former Pioneer standout and assistant coach, while working there.

Taylor played for Sacred Heart from 2008-12, earning NEC Player of the Year honors in her senior season. She finished her collegiate career as Sacred Heart's all-time leading rebounder (1,123) and in second on the Pioneers' career scoring list (1,822). Before recruiting Taylor to join her staff at Manhattan, Vulin also recruited her to play basketball at Sacred Heart.

Meet the Pioneers
Picked to finish third in the NEC's preseason coaches poll, Sacred Heart (3-5) has lost the last two games after opening the season at .500. The team's wins so far this season have come over Siena, New Hampshire and Hofstra. 

The Pioneers are led on the offensive end by Katherine Haines, who is averaging 13.0 points per game on 43.1 percent shooting. Candice Leatherwood follows just behind with 12.8 per game on 40.7 percent shooting. As a team, Sacred Heart averages 30.4 rebounds per game, including 22.4 defensive boards per game. The Pioneers allow 64 points per game, with opponents shooting 42.6 percent from the field.

Last Meeting
The Jaspers suffered a 65-61 loss to the Pioneers when the teams' last met at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, CT on November 15, 2017. The game saw 20 lead changes and eight ties, as former Jasper Kayla Grimme scored a season-high 32 points in the game and added 13 rebounds. It was also a milestone game for Grimme, as she scored her 1,000th career point on a three just before the halftime buzzer sounded. 

Manhattan went 3-8 from the foul line in the game, while Sacred Heart hit 15 of 21 free throws, but it was Leatherwood's 18 second-half points that were the deciding factor in the match-up.

Series History
The Manhattan-Sacred Heart series is tied 3-3 all-time.