Riverdale, NY - Manhattan women's basketball got a career night from junior guard
Sini Mäkelä (Helsinki, Finland / Mäkelänrinne Sports High) to overtake defending MAAC champions Quinnipiac at home on Thursday night. The Jaspers beat the Bobcats 77-62 for Manhattan's first win over Quinnipiac since 2015 and just the second win over the Bobcats in program history.
Manhattan improves to 10-13 overall this season and 7-7 in MAAC play, while Quinnipiac drops to 11-11 on the year and 8-5 in the league.
Highlights:
- Mäkelä contributed 15 points to the Jasper offense against Quinnipiac, besting her previous career-high of 12 that was set just five days ago at Marist. She went 4-5 from the field and 3-4 from three, while also remaining perfect at the foul line at 4-4.
- Mäkelä scored all of her points in a dominant second half for Manhattan, including eight in the third quarter, helping the Jaspers overtake and keep the lead.
- Julie Høier (Aabyhoej, Denmark / Marselisborg Gymnasium) and Courtney Warley (West Chester, PA / Bishop Shanahan) each added 13 points for Manhattan on a night where six Jaspers scored in double figures. The duo combined for 16 of Manhattan's 29 rebounds, with Warley pulling down a team-high nine.
- Warley's night on the glass moved her into 13th place on Manhattan's all-time rebounding list with 617 career boards. She is 11 away from tying Cari-Lyn Piotrowski (1988-92) for 12th place.
- After jumping out to a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Jaspers found themselves down nine midway through the second, as Quinnipiac went 7-12 from the floor in the quarter and earned 11 free throws, converting on seven. Lizahya Morgan (East Hartford, CT / Capital Preparatory Magnet) kept the Jaspers alive, though, hitting a three to spark a 9-2 run that culminated in another Morgan trey with 17 seconds left to go in the half. The Bobcats held just a three-point lead at halftime.
- Manhattan forced seven Quinnipiac turnovers in the third quarter, scoring 10 points off TOs in the stanza. The Jaspers also shot 73.3 percent from the floor in the third, outscoring the Bobcats 25-15 and overtaking the lead, which they would keep the remainder of the game.
- Manhattan out-scored Quinnipiac 48-30 in the second half.
- The Jaspers went 9-10 from the foul line in the second half and 13-14 in the game, a complete turnaround from the first meeting of the two teams earlier this season when Manhattan shot just 28.6 percent from the foul line.
- Manhattan scored 25 points off turnovers in the game, compared to just eight for Quinnipiac. The Jaspers committed just 10 team turnovers while earning 15 assists and 10 team steals.
- The Jaspers dominated the paint, earning a 36-26 advantage from inside the key, despite earning just nine offensive rebounds in the game.
Up Next:
Manhattan will host Rider on Saturday, February 15 at 2:00 pm. The contest will be the team's annual Play4Kay game.
