JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Behind 31 bench points, the Manhattan women's basketball team left Jersey City victorious, 67-57, over the Saint Peter's Peacocks in MAAC play on Saturday afternoon.
Manhattan improves to 11-15 on the year and 8-9 in the MAAC, while Saint Peter's falls to 0-26 overall and 0-17 in league play.
"I thought we had multiple players step up today to get this road win," commented head coach
Heather Vulin. "We had different people make key shots, free throws, and big defensive plays."
Manhattan's offense was firing on all cylinders in the opening quarter, shooting 64.3-percent from the field en route to a 22-17 lead. Manhattan used a 12-5 run to extend their advantage, which included six points from
Dee Dee Davis.
Later in the quarter, the Jaspers showed their unselfishness, with
Brazil Harvey-Carr passing up an open three to make the extra pass, swinging it to the corner to
Bella Nascimento, who drilled the corner triple. Nascimento finished the quarter with eight points, on a perfect 3-3 from the field and 2-2 from downtown.
In the second quarter,
Helena Galunic went up strong and finished through hard contact for a three-point play opportunity as the teams broke for the media timeout with the Jaspers up 30-22.
Saint Peter's closed the gap after the media stoppage, rattling off seven points with five straight coming from Jada Leonard, followed by a Tiara Bellamy jumper to come within three, 31-28. Davis stopped the bleeding with a put-back layup off a
Narrie Dodson miss to send the Jaspers into the locker room with a 33-28 lead.
The third quarter began with an 8-2 run, forcing the Peacocks into a timeout to keep the Jasper offense in check. Davis connected on a jumper, followed by a pair of free throws from
Anne Bair. The timeout was called after
Bella Nascimento showed great anticipation, deflected a Peacock pass, and was off to the races. Nascimento found Davis adjacent to her, but she could not finish the layup. But as she does, Davis grabbed her miss and converted to take an 11-point lead, 41-30.
Galunic showed up in a big way in the fourth quarter. The Peacocks were in the midst of a solid stretch. Galunic took a charge to help slow the Peacocks' momentum and added four key points down the stretch.
In the final minute, Manhattan hit their free throws, including
Emily LaPointe going 4-4 from the line to ice the game.
Davis paced the Jasper offense with 19 points, while Dodson hauled in a game-high seven rebounds to go along with five points. Bair finished with three points, four rebounds, and three assists.
"My mindset going into any game is to bring a lot of energy and intensity and to help our team in any way I can," added Bair. "Every game matters as we head into March. We have a ton to play for, and we're committed to giving it everything we have down the stretch."
As for the Peacocks, Leonard posted a game-high 22 points and hauled in four boards.
Manhattan will welcome the top dog in the MAAC, Iona, to Draddy Gym this coming Thursday for a 7 p.m. tilt.
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