Riverdale, NY - Manhattan women's basketball can secure a #4 seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship with a win over Canisius Saturday, March 2. The match-up, which will serve as the final regular season game for both teams, will start at 2:00 p.m. in Draddy Gymnasium.
Game Notes:
Predicting Seeding
In order for the Jaspers to land the four-seed, they not only need to defeat the Golden Griffins, but Quinnipiac (over Siena), Fairfield (over Rider), Saint Peter's (over Monmouth) and Marist (over Niagara) will also need to win their Saturday games. Manhattan (10-18, 8-9 MAAC) could earn seeding anywhere from fourth to seventh with a win, and seventh to ninth with a loss. The MAAC Tournament begins Thursday, March 7 at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY.
Last Outing
Manhattan was able to cut the Quinnipiac lead to single digits in the fourth quarter, but the Jaspers were unable to spark a run against the MAAC regular season champions, falling 59-42 in Hamden on February 28.
Lynette Taitt (Irvington, NJ / Bishop Loughlin) paced the Jaspers with 17 points, including 11 in the first half, when she went 5-11 from the floor. Taitt added four assists and three steals, both tied for game-highs.
Courtney Warley (West Chester, PA / Bishop Shanahan) earned her fifth double-double of the year, scoring 14 points (all in the second half) and grabbing 12 boards. Though shooting just 2-7 from the floor, Warley went 10-12 from the foul line on the night.
Taitt the Great
After scoring 17 against the Bobcats, Taitt now averages a team-high 10.1 points per game against MAAC opponents. She has totaled 12 double-figure scoring games, the most on the team, while also leading Manhattan in assists in 12 contests this year.
Warley at Work
Warley is averaging a MAAC-high 9.8 boards per game against MAAC opponents, as well as a MAAC-best 9.0 rebounds overall this season. She leads the league in blocked shots (2.1) and steals (2.6) against conference opponents. With 8.3 points per game overall this season, she is 28th on the MAAC's top 30 scoring list, with a 42.9 percent field goal percentage (ninth in the league).
About the Golden Griffins
Canisius (11-17, 9-8 MAAC) is coming off a big win over rival Niagara on Thursday night. Sophomore Danielle Sanderlin hit the game-winning shot with 17.3 seconds left to give the Golden Griffins the 52-51 win.
Shooting 42.3 percent against MAAC opponents, Canisius ranks second in the MAAC. The Griffs are also the third-best rebounding team in conference games, averaging 38.9 boards per game (just behind Manhattan's 39.2). Sara Hinriksdottir leads the Griffs with 13.6 points per game, while adding 8.2 boards. Sanderlin is the team's best rebounder with 8.4 per contest. D'Jhai Patterson-Ricks scores in double-figures for Canisius with 12.1 points per game.
Previous Meeting
Manhattan and Canisius faced each other on January 3 in Buffalo, the first MAAC contest of the year for both teams. The Golden Griffins took the 57-54 win behind 17 points from Patterson-Ricks and 16 from Hinriksdottir.
Down 10 going into the fourth, Manhattan opened the quarter with a 11-5 run, cutting the Canisius lead to four with just under five minutes to play. A driving jumper from Taitt put the Jaspers within two with a little more than 13 seconds to play, but a crucial steal by the Griffs 10 seconds later sealed the victory for Canisius. Warley finished with a double-double, notching 13 points and 10 boards, while adding five blocks.
All-Time Series
Canisius leads the all-time series 35-26. In the teams' last meeting in Draddy on January 4, 2018, the Jaspers held the Golden Griffs to 39 points on their way to a 58-39 victory.
Celebrating 40 Years of Varsity Women's Basketball
Not only the final game of the regular season, Saturday's match-up will also be a celebration of 40 years of women's varsity basketball at Manhattan College. After several years as a club team, the program was elevated to varsity status for the 1978-79 season, with current Athletic Director
Marianne Reilly as one of the school's first female scholarship players. Several important moments from the past four decades will be celebrated during the game, while a postgame reunion will be hosted at Bella Notte in Riverdale.
