LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Manhattan Jaspers women's basketball team (15-14, 9-11 MAAC) concluded the regular season on a high note after taking down the Saints of Siena College (17-12, 14-6 MAAC) by a score of 62-43 inside the UHY Center on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Manhattan got off to an early and positive start, with Petra Juric finding the cup off an Ines Gimenez Monserrat steal to get the Jaspers on the board first and would never look back.
- The Saints maintained their short deficit to the Jaspers, but Leyla Ozturk put home back-to-back buckets to start her career day and extend the lead to seven.
- Ozturk alone scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the contest on five total attempts, with four converting.
- Midway through the second quarter, Hana Muhl added three straight Jasper buckets to combine for seven points alone and give Manhattan its largest lead at 14.
- Down the stretch in the second stanza, Petra Juric found Gimenez Monserrat on the wing for a three-pointer to further extend Manhattan's lead.
- A mini-scoring drought for both programs through the third quarter prompted Kristina Juric to break the notion, with a layup from Hana Muhl to put her team ahead by eight.
- Extending the lead back to double-digits was Ozturk, once more, with Petra Juric taking advantage of a bad pass by Siena's Hooker and finding Ozturk for another two.
- Off Ozturk's fifth board in the middle of the fourth quarter, she found Muhl, who found Tegan Young for a booming triple to give the Jaspers a then-game-high 18-point edge.
- With just 26 seconds left, Nitzan Amar stole her second Siena pass of the day and found Muhl, who then found Ozturk one more time down low to record points 22 and 23 in the waning seconds of the contest.
STATS AND NOTES
- The Jaspers have now logged four victories on the season in wire-to-wire affairs, with its last coming against Canisius just last week inside Draddy Gymnasium.
- Graduate forward Leyla Ozturk recorded a career-high 23 points on nine-of-13 from the floor. She added five rebounds and logged five-of-seven from the charity stripe in 35 minutes of action.
- Senior guard Ines Gimenez Monserrat registered 10 points on the afternoon on four-of-eight shooting from the field. Gimenez Monserrat grabbed five caroms, logged three assists, and one steal in 32 minutes on the floor.
- Senior forward Petra Juric added 10 points to the scoresheet, grabbing five rebounds, assisting on three, and swatting away two potential buckets in 32 minutes.
- Junior guard Hana Muhl grabbed nine rebounds and assisted on five buckets while converting three-of-five from the floor.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS:
Head Coach Heather Vulin: "Tremendous team win on the road today against a very good Siena team. I thought we came out aggressive on both sides of the ball and were rewarded for it. Hana (Muhl) was incredible for us today and made huge hustle plays whether it was rebounds or taking charges. Leyla (Ozturk) in her last regular season game has a career high. It was an all-around team effort. Truly happy for the team and excited to head to Atlantic City next week."
NEXT UP:
The Jaspers have clinched the No. 8 seed in the 2025 Hercules Tire MAAC Basketball Championship, and will play the No. 9 seed Canisius Golden Griffins (10-20, 9-11) on Tuesday, March 11 at 12 p.m. to open the Tournament inside Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. The contest can be viewed on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.
Manhattan has defeated Canisius in their lone meeting this season on February 27 inside Draddy Gymnasium by a score of 71-35. The largest winning margin for Manhattan this season.