2012-13 Manhattan Women's Basketball Yearbook
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Despite a career-high 23 points from Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.), the Manhattan College women's basketball team (6-22, 3-14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) dropped a 71-64 decision to Iona (17-11, 12-5 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium on Thursday night.
"Toni was great (tonight)," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "She had a career-high in the first half, and in the second half she made some key baskets. She played hard every second of the way. I was very pleased with her effort."
After Iona stormed out to an early 12-4 lead just 5:30 into the game, Manhattan exploded for 19 of the next 22 points. The Jaspers took the lead for the first time when a Lawrence jumper made it 15-14 with 11:00 remaining in the first half, then extended their advantage to a game-high eight points at 23-15 on a Lawrence jumper at the 8:19 mark.
However, the Gaels responded with a 10-0 rally to regain the lead, 28-25. After Shayna Ericksen (Hackettstown, N.J.) hit a pair of layups to put Manhattan back in front, 29-28, at the 4:58 mark, Iona used a 17-3 run to open up a 45-32 advantage with 1:18 remaining before halftime. Lawrence hit a jumper to bring the Jaspers within 11 points, 45-24, with 23 seconds left in the first half, then recorded a steal on the ensuing Iona possession and fed Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.), who drained a three at the buzzer to cut the deficit to eight, 45-37, at intermission.
Manhattan carried that momentum into the second half, pulling within four, 47-43, on a Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) layup with 15:18 left. The Gaels used an 11-2 rally to once again take a 13-point advantage, 58-45, and built their largest cushion of the game, a 67-52 lead, with 5:23 to go.
The Jaspers refused to go down quietly, though, as a pair of free throws by Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) at the 5:15 mark started the comeback attempt. Two more Stec free throws capped an 8-0 spurt that brought Manhattan within seven, 67-60, with 2:54 left. After a Sabrina Jeridore layup brought the margin back to nine points at 69-60, layups by Stec and Skrec cut Manhattan's deficit to five, 69-64, with 28 seconds remaining. However, Iona's Haley D'Angelo drained two foul shots on the next possession to make it 71-64, and that would prove to be the final score.
"That's the number two team in the conference and we went toe-to-toe with them," Olenowski said. "I was very proud of our effort. If we keep playing hard, it will create some good opportunities in the playoffs."
Lawrence went 10-for-21 from the field and also contributed eight rebounds and four assists. Skrec tallied nine points and four assists, while Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) recorded eight points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Stec also had eight points to go along with three assists and three steals. Blair and Ericksen each added seven points for the Jaspers. Manhattan shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64) as a team and outrebounded Iona 42-35. The Jaspers went 3-for-12 (25 percent) from long range and 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) at the charity stripe.
Joy Adams led five Gaels in double figures with 16 points. She added 19 rebounds to complete a double-double. Aleesha Powell contributed 13 points and five assists, while D'Angelo, Damika Martinez and Jeridore registered 10 points apiece. Jeridore also had five rebounds and four blocks. As a team, Iona shot 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from downtown, and 50 percent (9-of-18) at the line.
The Jaspers conclude the regular season with a 2 p.m. matchup against Niagara (14-13, 9-7 MAAC) on Sunday. It will be "Senior Day" at Draddy Gymnasium, as Lawrence, Blair, Karita Brown (Sterling, Va.) and Ondya Morgan (New Brunswick, N.J.) will be honored prior to the contest.
NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 15 minutes due to a power surge immediately after the starting lineups were announced...It was Manhattan's first home game in 17 days...Iona swept the season series for the first time since 2009-10...The Jaspers own a 44-24 all-time advantage...Manhattan topped 60 points in a game for the first time since a 62-50 victory over Loyola on Jan. 18...Lawrence had 16 points in the first half, topping her previous career-high of 14 set against Fairfield on Feb. 11...Roeder's previous career-high was nine rebounds at Canisius on Feb. 22...Manhattan's 42 rebounds were a season-high, and it marked the first time the Jaspers pulled down 40 or more rebounds since March 14, 2012, when they grabbed 40 against Robert Morris...The Jaspers celebrated "Play 4 Kay" night for breast cancer awareness by wearing pink t-shirts during pregame warmups.