ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The No. 8 seed Manhattan Jaspers women's basketball team (16-15, 9-11 MAAC) put its stellar defense on full display on the conference stage but was not enough in the 58-51 loss to No. 1 Fairfield Stags (26-4, 19-1) inside Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Riding high from the victory nearly a day ago, the Green and White had the defending tournament champs in its sights. Ines Gimenez Monserrat started the game with the first two points after grabbing the offensive board off Tegan Young's initial miss.
- After Fairfield went on a 15-3 run in a span of nearly six and a half minutes, Gimenez Monserrat sparked the comeback for the Jaspers.
- Manhattan forced the Stags to turn the ball over four times throughout the first quarter, with Kristina Juric logging a layup to narrow Fairfield's leads to just two possessions.
- Into the second quarter, the Jaspers cut the Stags' lead to as little as five, with a Hana Muhl trey off a three-second turnover by Fairfield's Cyanne Coe.
- Ending the half in style was Young, who forced another Fairfield turnover, which allowed Amar to net another two. This was followed by Muhl causing another turnover for Fairfield and netting two free throws to head into the locker room down just three.
- The Jaspers went on a 15-0 run through the first four minutes of the third quarter, highlighted by the game-tying three-pointer from Gimenez Monserrat just 40 seconds in.
- Fairfield responded with a seven-to-nothing run before Petra Juric netted two free-throws to narrow the Jaspers' deficit to as little as four.
- Manhattan was not going away in the fourth quarter, as both teams would trade buckets before Gimenez Monserrat knocked down a booming three-pointer to narrow Fairfield's lead to as little as four for the third time.
- Back-to-back floating jump shots for the Jaspers' Amar and Petra Juric brought Manhattan within one with 95 seconds remaining.
- The Stags' Meghan Anderson's step-back jump-shot was the eventual dagger with a minute and 19 seconds remaining after Nitzan Amar's runner was too strong with 27 seconds left.
STATS AND NOTES
- Senior guard Nitzan Amar logged a team-high 13 points on six-of-16 from the floor in the effort. The Israeli product grabbed eight boards, added four assists, and converted one triple in 37 minutes on the floor.
- Senior forward Ines Gimenez Monserrat added 10 points to the scoreboard on four-of-12 shooting. The native of Mallorca, Spain, grabbed six rebounds and assisted on four baskets in 34 minutes.
- Junior guard Hana Muhl recorded nine points on three-of-five shooting. Muhl converted two-of-three from the charity stripe and assisted on one basket in 24 minutes off the bench.
- Manhattan won the battle in the paint 30-22.
- The Jaspers fell for the first time all season when leading the game in assist totals (15-1).
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS:
Head Coach Heather Vulin: "I want to thank my team for everything they did in terms of representing Jasper Nation. I thought that was one heck of a MAAC basketball game. Really proud of their effort. I want to give credit to Fairfield. A sensational program with another sensational season. Especially when they lost the preseason player of the year. Hats off to them. I'm just expecting the rest of this tournament to be incredible. I think overall, our MAAC women's side, has really had an incredible season. Lots of great games, lots of great players in this league. Just really grateful for this opportunity. They executed our game plan to a T. Just at the end of the day, we had to make a few more baskets."
Petra Juric on what it meant to wear the Green and White: "Been here for four years. Freshman all the way to a senior. Absolutely loved it. I don't think I could've found a better fit coaches, players, and school-wise. I'm sad it got to end like this. It could've been better, but I'm super grateful for all of the years I spent here."
Nitzan Amar on coming out of the locker room at halftime on fire: "We know that Fairfield is a great transition team. So, we tried to stop them in transition. We just trust our offense. We execute our plays, and it worked."
Leyla Ozturk on her time in Riverdale: "I'm forever grateful to Coach Vulin and the whole coaching staff. I found a family here. Just really grateful for the whole program.