Riverdale, NY - Manhattan (10-13, 7-7 MAAC) will play its second game in three days as the Jaspers host Rider (18-4, 11-2) on Saturday, February 15 in Draddy.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 pm on ESPN3. The game will mark the team's annual Play4Kay breast cancer awareness game.Â
GAME NOTES
Last Outing
Manhattan got a career night from junior guard
Sini Mäkelä (Helsinki, Finland / Mäkelänrinne Sports High) to overtake defending MAAC champions Quinnipiac at home on February 13. 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.Â
Mäkelä contributed 15 points to the Jasper offense against Quinnipiac, going 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.Â
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.Â
Warley's World
Warley leads the MAAC with 3.1 steals per game against conference opponents, while ranking fourth with 9.0 rebounds per game against MAAC teams. She is averaging 11.0 points per game in conference play (24th in the MAAC), shooting 51.1 percent from the field. With 2.6 steals per game overall this season, she is second in the league and ranks 31st in all of Division I.
Good LaPointe
Emily LaPointe (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Academy) earned her league-high sixth MAAC Rookie of the Week award on February 3. LaPointe leads the squad in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game (14th in the MAAC). Her 13.5 points per game against MAAC opponents ranks her in the league's top 10. She is also second for threes made per game (2.3) in MAAC play, while averaging 31.0 minutes per game, the most of any freshman in the conference.
Milestone Markers
Warley now has 617 rebounds for her career, currently 13th all-time and just 11 away from tying Cari-Lyn Piotrowski (1988-92) for 12th place. Warley is also 21 steals away from tying for 15th on that all-time list and one block away from 100. She currently sits in fifth on Manhattan's all-time blocks list.
Gabby Cajou (Stony Point, NY / North Rockland) is three assists away from tying Joann Nwafili (2004-08) for 15th all-time and 25 away from the program's top 10. She is also 11 steals away from tying Michelle Pacheco (2006-10) at 15th on that all-time list.Â
About the Broncs
With just two losses in MAAC play, both coming last week, Rider currently sits in second place in the league standings.
The Broncs boast the nation's leading scorer, Stella Johnson, who averages 24.9 points per game and earned the 2018-19 MAAC Player of the Year honor. Teammate Amari Johnson is averaging a double-double with 11.8 points and a MAAC-high 11.0 rebounds per game. Rider has the league's best field-goal (.340) and three-point field goal (.287) percentage defense, while also earning a MAAC-high 4.4 blocks per game.
Previous Meeting
The Jaspers couldn't escape a combined 48 points from Rider's Stella Johnson, the nation's leading scorer, and teammate Amari Johnson, as the Broncs earned a 76-53 win over Manhattan on January 30 in Lawrenceville.Â
Locked in at 14 apiece after the first quarter, Rider shot over 73 percent in the second to take a 40-28 lead at the half. The Broncs shot 60 percent in the second half. The Jaspers forced 17 turnovers from the Broncs, while nabbing six steals as team. However, Manhattan could only convert those turnovers into seven points. The Jaspers were also out-manned on the glass, as the Broncs pulled down 39 boards with a 33-15 advantage on the defensive end. LaPointe finished with a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds.
All-Time Series
Manhattan leads Rider 30-19 in the all-time series.
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