2012-13 Manhattan Women's Basketball Yearbook
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - On the day the Manhattan College women's basketball team celebrated its seniors, the Jaspers made sure they wouldn't send the Class of 2013 out with a loss. After honoring Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.), Karita Brown (Sterling, Va.), Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) and Ondya Morgan (New Brunswick, N.J.) during a pregame ceremony, the Jaspers (7-22, 4-14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) snapped a seven-game losing streak by posting a 61-52 victory over Niagara (14-15, 9-9 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
"It's very satisfying," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "We kept emphasizing over the past few days that we have a tradition. On Senior Day, we win the game for our seniors. So, that was our whole focus. I'm very happy for them."
Niagara scored the first six points of the game before Manhattan rallied to go in front 7-6 on a three-pointer by Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) at the 15:23 mark. The Purple Eagles regained the lead, 10-9, on Lauren Gatto's layup with 12:24 left in the first half, but the Jaspers immediately countered on a jumper by Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.). That bucket started a 12-0 Manhattan run that extended the Jaspers' cushion to 11 points at 21-10.
After a Gatto layup briefly halted the rally, Lawrence drained four straight free throws to push the margin to 14 points, 25-11, with 2:37 to go before halftime. Niagara then ended the half on a 5-0 spurt to make it 25-16 at the break.
The Purple Eagles pulled within eight at 32-24 early in the second half, but a Blair layup with 15:31 remaining ignited an 11-4 Manhattan rally that gave the Jaspers their largest lead of the game, a 43-28 edge with 12:30 to play. After Manhattan took a 48-34 advantage on a Blair trey with 8:01 left, Niagara rallied for eight straight points to cut the margin to six, 48-42, at the 6:31 mark.
With Manhattan still leading 52-46 and 1:27 remaining, Niagara began fouling to stop the clock. After a Gatto jumper made it 55-50 with 39 seconds to go, the Jaspers went 6-for-6 at the line down the stretch to conclude a 61-52 triumph.
Lawrence paced the Jaspers with 17 points and seven rebounds to go along with three blocks and a career-high six steals. Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Blair contributed nine points and five boards. Stec added eight points, and Skrec recorded seven points and nine assists. The Jaspers shot 40.5 percent (17-of-42) from the field and outrebounded the Purple Eagles 33-30. Manhattan went 4-for-11 (36.4 percent) from three-point land and 23-for-29 (79.3 percent) at the charity stripe.
Gatto tallied 17 points for the Purple Eagles, while Meghan McGuinness recorded 16 points, seven boards and three steals. Val McQuade and Kayla Stroman each had six points, and Kelly Van Leeuwen handed out five assists. Niagara shot 35.2 percent (19-of-54) from the field, 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from downtown, and 77.8 percent (7-of-9) at the free throw line.
With the win, Manhattan locked up the No. 9 seed in next weekend's MAAC Tournament. The Jaspers will take on eighth-seeded Loyola (12-17, 7-11 MAAC) in the first round at 2 p.m. on Thursday from the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. Manhattan and Loyola split the season series in 2012-13, with each squad winning at home.
"Everybody's going up there (Springfield) 0-0," Olenowski said. "And I believe we're going to have great energy. I'm excited about our chances."
NOTES: The Jaspers won on Senior Day for the fifth consecutive year...Manhattan snapped a three-game losing streak against the Purple Eagles and now leads the all-time series 25-24...All four seniors got the start, along with Roeder...Roeder now has 998 career points...The 23 made free throws and 29 free throw attempts were both season-highs for the Jaspers...As a team, Manhattan recorded 16 assists on 17 made field goals...Lawrence's previous career-high was five steals against Towson on Nov. 10, 2012...It was Lawrence's 127th consecutive game, tying her with Lindsey Loutsenhizer for Manhattan's all-time games played record...This year's senior class has been a part of 64 wins during their Manhattan careers, including four postseason victories.