NEW BRITAIN, CT — Manhattan only trailed once (2-0) and opened as much as a 19-point lead on its way to a 78-64 win over Central Connecticut State on Thursday night. The Jaspers used a balanced scoring effort—four players in double digits—and Brianna Davis broke through for 16 points to stave off a late push from the Blue Devils.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-A three from Nitzan Amar at 8:12 in the first quarter gave Manhattan a 3-2 lead.
-A tough finish from Tegan Young at the 3:39 mark of the first quarter gave Manhattan a 10-6 lead. Young added another basket before time expired in the first quarter and the Jaspers led 13-10 after one.
-CCSU was buoyed by two and-one plays from Selina Monestime in the first quarter as Manhattan battled to establish a presence in the paint.
-Manhattan opened up the second quarter with back to back lay-ups from Davis and Hana Muhl to extend the lead to 17-10.
-Leading 22-19 with 5:29 left in the second quarter, the Jaspers closed on a 14-7 run to take a 36-26 lead at halftime. Sophomore Kristina Juric notched the first basket of her young Jasper career, and added another before heading into the halftime break.
-The Manhattan bench chipped in 15 of the Jaspers' 36 points across the opening two quarters, led by six apiece from Davis and Young.
-After a basket from Monestime cut the lead to 38-30 at the 7:57 mark of the third quarter, a tip-in from Petra Juric put the lead back to double-digits at 10. After CCSU responded with five unanswered, Manhattan launched a game-changing 14-0 run, featuring a pair of threes from Amar and a jump shot from Davis to bring the advantage to 19 points.
-Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Amar came up with a steal and initiated the offense before finding Petra Juric who picked out an open Leyla Ozturk in the paint. Ozturk secured the basket, plus the foul, to move the advantage back up to 17.
-After CCSU cut it to 11 with 3:52 left, a jumper from Davis took the pressure off and a few possessions later Muhl hit her jump shot to help keep the lead in double-figures.
-Manhattan held CCSU without a field goal for over three minutes until Kayla Henry's basket with 14 seconds left in the game helped reach the final scoreline.
STATS AND NOTES
-Davis (16), Amar (14), Juric (13) and Muhl (12) all reached double digits while Ozturk (9) and Young (8) fell just short of double figures.
-The Jaspers' defense came to play by registering nine steals and forcing 18 turnovers which turned into 24 points.
-Manhattan had 13 assists on 30 made field goals and won the rebounding margin, 38-33.
-Amar accounted for three of Manhattan's four triples with Davis registering the other from the corner with 26 seconds left.
-Petra Juric fell one rebound shy of a double-double with a 13 and 9 showing.
-Muhl scored 10 points on an efficient 4-9 shooting, and tied Amar for the team-lead in steals (2).
-Seven Jaspers recorded a steal.
-CCSU was picked to finish second in the NEC preseason poll.
QUOTES FROM MANHATTAN
Davis on the Jaspers setting the tone defensively against a hard-nosed team: "We knew they were a scrappy team and that we would have to get after it on defense. Coach [Vulin] talked about pressuring the ball and that's how we got after it."
Associate head coach Callan Stores on creating enough separation in the third quarter to stave off the Blue Devils: "We came out of halftime looking to be more aggressive. We had some big performances off the bench and Bri [Davis] really stepped up for us. It was a collective effort and it was a good feeling to get this win:
NEXT TIME OUT
Manhattan has six more days to hone their craft before Long Island University (0-1) comes to Draddy on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
