2012-13 Manhattan Women's Basketball Yearbook
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - On Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan College women's basketball team took on Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)-leading Marist at McCann Arena. The Jaspers (6-19, 3-11 MAAC) played the Red Foxes (19-6, 14-0 MAAC) even for much of the game before ultimately succumbing by a 66-47 margin.
Manhattan jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on three-pointers by Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) and Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) before the Red Foxes responded with 13 unanswered points to pull ahead 13-6 with 13:59 left in the first half. A trey by Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) snapped the Marist run and started a 12-6 Manhattan rally that brought the Jaspers within one, 19-18, at the 8:30 mark.
After a Casey Dulin three-ball extended Marist's advantage to four points, 22-18, Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) hit a jumper to again cut the margin to two, 22-20, with 6:19 left before the break. The Red Foxes then used an 8-2 rally to bring their lead back to eight points, 30-22, but Blair immediately countered with a trey on the other end to make it 30-25. It was still 30-25 when Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) blocked Leanne Ockenden's three-point attempt as time expired, sending Manhattan into the locker room down five.
The Red Foxes opened the second half on a 14-4 run to increase their lead to 15 points, 44-29, with 13:56 remaining. Manhattan pulled within 13 on a Stec layup that made it 51-38 at the 7:22 mark, but Marist scored 15 of the next 21 points to open up a game-high 22-point advantage, 66-44, with 1:40 to go. Roeder sank a trey with less than a minute left to make the final margin 19 points, 66-47. With the win, Marist clinched at least a share of its 10th consecutive MAAC regular season title and locked up the No. 1 seed in the MAAC Tournament.
"In the first half, we did a pretty good job of running our offense," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "We did a pretty good job of forcing their shooters a little bit further out than they like. But in the second half, they (Marist) made some really good transition buckets and got some key rebounds. They had a couple of easy possessions where they got the ball inside, and that was the game right there. When you get behind double-digits against a team like Marist, it's pretty much lights out."
Roeder was the only Jasper in double-figures, finishing with a game-high 15 points to go along with seven rebounds. Stec contributed nine points and six assists, while Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) tallied eight points and eight boards. Skrec distributed eight assists for the Jaspers, who shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the field. Manhattan shot 35 percent (7-of-20) from long range and outrebounded Marist 35-32. The Jaspers didn't make a free throw in the game, going 0-for-2 at the line.
Sydney Coffey had 14 points to pace the Red Foxes. Elizabeth Beynnon and Dulin each chipped in 11 points, while Dulin also handed out four assists. Ockenden tallied 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals, and Emma O'Connor registered seven points and six boards. Marist shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the field, 30.8 percent (8-of-26) from downtown, and 80 percent (12-of-15) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan is back on the road next weekend for its annual trip to Western New York. The Jaspers visit Canisius (9-16, 6-8 MAAC) at 7 p.m. on Friday. Manhattan posted a 54-51 victory when the squads met in Riverdale on Feb. 3.
NOTES: Marist swept the season series for the second time in three years...The Jaspers lead the all-time series 23-22...Manhattan used a different starting lineup for the first time in four games and the 14th time this season, with Isaacs reentering the starting five...The Jaspers outrebounded their opponent for just the fourth time this season, and are now 3-1 in those games...Manhattan didn't make a free throw for the first time since going 0-for-0 at the line against Minnesota on March 23, 2012...The Jaspers were held to a season-low five steals, as Marist committed just nine turnovers...It was Marist's "Play 4 Kay" game for breast cancer awareness, and the Jaspers wore pink t-shirts during pregame warrnups.