Jaspers Return Home For Showdown With Marist

Riverdale, NY - Manhattan women's basketball (7-8, 4-2 MAAC) will host Marist (11-3, 4-1 MAAC) on Saturday, January 18, as the Jaspers play their first game in Draddy since January 4. Tip-off is set for 2:00 pm on ESPN+. 

GAME NOTES

Last Outing
Manhattan outscored Siena by 21 points in the second half to take home a 80-50 win over the Saints on January 16 in Loudonville. Lizahya Morgan (East Hartford, CT / Capital Prepartory Magnet) set a career-high with 16 points in the game, surpassing her previous scoring-high of 14. She went 6-9 from the floor with two threes. She added a game-high four steals and three assists, a season-high. Freshman Emily LaPointe (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Academy) contributed a game-high 19 points against the Saints, earning 12 points in the fourth-quarter alone on 4-4 shooting from three. LaPointe finished the game with five total buckets from beyond the arc, a career-high.

The Jaspers shot 55.2 percent from the floor for the game, the second-best shooting performance by the team this season. Manhattan combined for 10 steals and forced 20 turnovers, earning 18 points of those TOs. The Jaspers also held an 18-2 advantage on fast-break points and totaled a season-high six blocks. 

Defense Wins Championships
Manhattan leads the MAAC in steals, averaging 9.6 per contest as a team. The Jaspers also rank third in scoring defense, allowing 60.3 points per contest, and second in three-point field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to .293 shooting from behind the arc. The Jaspers average 3.2 blocks per game, as well,  good for third in the league.

Across the NCAA, Manhattan ranks 78th in Division I for steals per game, and 87th in scoring defense.

Protecting the Ball
Manhattan ranks 44th in Division I for fewest turnovers per game (13.7). The squad ranks among the nation's top 40 for best turnover margin, coming in at 39th (4.33), in addition to holding Division I's 60th best assist/turnover ratio (1.06). 

Hitting Milestones
Against Siena on January 16, Courtney Warley (West Chester, PA / Bishop Shanahan) surpassed Linda Bores (1980-84) for 16th on the program's all-time rebounding list. Now with 542 career-rebounds, she is 43 away from the program's top 15. Warley is also 45 steals away from 15th on that all-time list. Currently fifth on the program's all-time blocks list, she is six away from 100 for her career.

Also at Siena, Pamela Miceus (Haverstraw, NY / North Rockland) jumped both Barbara Kelly (1980-81) and Lindsey Loutsenhizer (2008-12) to take 16th on the program's all-time blocks list. Now with 48 for her career, Miceus is one block away from tying Joann Nwafili (2004-08) for 15th all-time, and 23 from the program's top 10.

Now at 254 career assists, Gabby Cajou (Stony Point, NY / North Rockland) is three away from tying Donna Seybold (1986-90) for 16th all-time. She is 24 steals away from tying Michelle Pacheco (2006-10) at 165 on that all-time list. 

About the Red Foxes
Marist suffered its first MAAC lost Thursday, January 16 against Rider, falling 76-72 in overtime at the McCann Center. The Red Foxes lead the league in points per game (74.9) and scoring margin (+10.6). Grace Vander Weide ranks 10th in Division I for assists per game (5.9), while Rebekah Hand (18.1) and Alana Gilmer (17.6) sit at two and three in the MAAC for scoring. 

Previous Meeting
The Jaspers last met the Red Foxes in the quarterfinals of the 2019 MAAC tournament on March 9, 2019, the third meeting of the two schools last season. #6 Manhattan fell to #3 Marist 65-51, as Warley finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

All-Time Series
Manhattan is 25-35 all-time against Marist after going 1-2 against the Red Foxes during the 2018-19 campaign. The Jaspers defeated the Red Foxes 69-51 at the McCann Center on January 27, 2019, as Lynette Taitt (Bronx, NY / Bishop Loughlin) put in a career-high 20 points and nabbed a game-high four steals. Julie Høier (Aabyhoej, Denmark / Marselisborg Gymnasium) added a career-high 16 points to the Jaspers' offense, going a near-perfect 5-6 from the floor, in addition to pulling down nine rebounds.