Women's Basketball 2/28/2018 4:17:00 PM

Jaspers Open MAAC Tourney with Iona Match-up

Manhattan finished the 2017-18 regular season seventh in the MAAC with a .500 record, a five-win improvement over the previous season.
Senior center Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA / Altoona Area) earned All-MAAC Second Team honors this postseason, while senior guard Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY / James Madison) was named to the All-MAAC Third Team. Freshman center Courtney Warley (West Chester, PA / Bishop Shanahan) earned a spot on the league's All-Rookie Team.
In the previous meeting between Manhattan and Iona on February 17, the Jaspers grabbed a 57-48 victory at the Hynes Athletic Center. Tatum scored a team-high 15 points and added four of the team's eight assists. Coming off the bench, Gabby Cajou (Stony Point, NY / North Rockland) put in 10 points, including going 6-8 from the foul line.
Manhattan leads the all-time series against Iona 47-31. The Jaspers are 2-0 against the Gaels this season. Manhattan and Iona have not faced each other in the MAAC Tournament since 2011, when the Jaspers won 59-47.
Tatum currently ranks 27th among Division I players in three-point field goal percentage (42.5). She is 27th in the country for steals overall this season (77) and 36th in steals per game (2.66). Tatum also leads the MAAC in these categories, as well as in assists per game (4.4).
Tatum enters the Iona match-up with 985 career points for her time at Manhattan.
Manhattan boasts a set of four seniors who combine for 436 games played and 284 games started over their careers: Tatum, Grimme, Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, PA / Perkiomen Valley), and Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT / Capital Preparatory Magnet).
At the 2017 MAAC Championships last year, the 10th-seeded Jaspers dropped a 62-46 decision to seventh-seeded Monmouth in the first round. 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.
Iona finished the 2017-18 season in 10th place, though the Gaels boast a lot of talent in junior Alexis Lewis and freshman Toyosi Abiola. Earlier this week, Lewis was named to the All-MAAC Third Team, her third consecutive postseason honor. Abiola was the only unanimous pick to the MAAC's All-Rookie team.