BRONX, N.Y. - The Manhattan College women's basketball team made the short trip across town to face Fordham in the 44th "Battle of the Bronx" on Wednesday night. Looking to snap a two-game losing streak, the Jaspers (1-4) came up just short, as the Rams (5-1) used a 13-3 second-half run to break open a two-point game en route to a 55-45 victory at Rose Hill Gym.
"I thought that was our best effort of the season, and it came against probably the best team we've faced so far," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "We were aggressive and played good defense. The shots just didn't fall."
The Jaspers scored the first five points of the game and led 7-2 before the Rams went on a 9-2 run to take an 11-9 advantage. Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) hit a three-pointer on the other end to put Manhattan back in front, 12-11, but Fordham regained the lead on a pair of Marah Strickland free throws. After another Roeder trey, a three-pointer by Arielle Collins gave the lead back to Fordham, 16-15, midway through the first half.
Samantha Clark hit a layup to increase the Rams' lead to three points, 18-15, but Manhattan responded with buckets from Shayna Ericksen (Hackettstown, N.J.) and Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) to go back in front, 19-18. After Fordham rallied for the next six points to go up 24-19, Manhattan ended the half on a 5-0 rally, and Ericksen drained a free throw with 6.5 seconds remaining to even the score at 24-24 at intermission.
In the second half, Fordham quickly scored five points to make it 29-24 before jumpers by Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) and Ondya Morgan (New Brunswick, N.J.) cut the Jaspers' deficit to one, 29-28. The Rams pushed their lead back to six points at 38-32, but Manhattan again responded with a pair of buckets to trim the margin to two, 40-38, with 8:09 left. However, Fordham went on a 13-3 scoring run over the next five minutes to increase their advantage to 12 points, 53-41, at the 3:07 mark. Manhattan pulled within eight at 53-45 with 1:16 to go, but was unable to get no closer, and the Rams held on for a 55-45 victory.
Ericksen finished one rebound shy of her second straight double-double, notching team-highs with 11 points and nine rebounds. Lawrence added 10 points, while Roeder tallied nine points, six boards and two blocks to go along with a career-high five assists. Morgan registered eight points, four assists and four steals for the Jaspers. As a team, Manhattan shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the field, 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from three-point range, and 75 percent (3-of-4) at the free throw line.
Strickland collected 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Rams. Erin Rooney added 12 points, while Clark tallied 11 points, eight boards and three assists. Collins notched seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Abigail Corning also pulled down seven rebounds for Fordham. The Rams shot 33.9 percent (19-of-56) from the field and outrebounded the Jaspers 44-29, including a 16-5 edge on the offensive glass. Fordham shot just 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from long range and 75 percent (12-of-16) at the charity stripe.
The Jaspers play their next three contests at home, starting with a rematch of last year's Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) quarterfinals against Holy Cross (3-3) at 4 p.m. on Saturday. There will be a special halftime ceremony recognizing the 100th anniversary of Manhattan's track & field program.
NOTES: Manhattan and Fordham have met least once a season since the 1979-80 campaign...The Rams won for the second straight year, but the Jaspers still lead the all-time series 24-20...Manhattan has faced Fordham more than any other non-conference opponent...This marked the first victory by the home team in the "Battle of the Bronx" since Manhattan's 63-47 triumph at Draddy Gymnasium on Dec. 22, 2009...Manhattan shot better than its opponent for the second time this season...The Jaspers have lost three straight games for the first time since Jan. 15-27, 2012...The Manhattan and Fordham men's teams will square off on Thursday night at Rose Hill Gym, and the game will be televised live on YES.