Box Score
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College women's basketball team hung right with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)-leading Iona for 31 minutes on Monday night. However, the Gaels (15-2, 8-0 MAAC) used a 13-0 run midway through the second half to break the game open in an eventual 70-52 victory over the Jaspers (4-13, 3-5 MAAC) at the Hynes Athletic Center.
Iona quickly jumped out to a 9-0 lead, forcing Manhattan Head Coach John Olenowski to call timeout just 2:52 into the game. The Gaels extended their advantage to 15-4 at the 14:24 mark before Manhattan got back-to-back threes from Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) and Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) to pull within five at 15-10.
The Gaels pushed the margin back to nine point at 19-10, but an Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) trey ignited a 13-6 Manhattan run that trimmed the Jaspers' deficit to two, 25-23, with 6:46 left in the half. Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) followed with a jumper to knot the score at 25-25, then a Blake Underhill (Edgewater, N.J.) free throw put Manhattan in front, 26-25, with 4:37 remaining.
However, Joy Adams hit a pair of foul shots on the other end to tie the game and start a 7-0 Iona rally that gave the Gaels a 32-26 advantage. After Roeder sank a trey to cut the margin to three, Iona's Aaliyah Robinson put in a layup to make it a five-point game, 34-29, at intermission.
Manhattan got back within three at 40-37 on a Skrec layup with 15:45 remaining, but Iona responded with a 10-3 run to bring the margin back to double-digits at 50-40. Stec nailed two free throws to pull Manhattan within eight, then, after a Damika Martinez three-pointer, hit a jumper as the shot clock expired to make it a nine-point game, 53-44, with 9:34 left.
The Jaspers would get no closer though, as Iona went on a 13-0 run over the next 5:19 to open up its largest lead of the game, a 66-44 cushion with 4:15 to go. Manhattan's scoring drought ended on a pair of free throws by Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J.), and the Jaspers scored eight of the final 12 points to make it an 18-point final margin, 70-52. It was Iona's 14th straight win, as the Gaels remained the only team undefeated in conference play this season.
Roeder registered a game-high 18 points to move into eighth place on Manhattan's all-time scoring list. Stec, meanwhile, recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. She also collected three steals, as the Jaspers tallied 14 steals as a team and forced 20 Iona turnovers. Skrec finished with eight points, six assists and three steals, and Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) grabbed seven rebounds to go along with three assists. The Jaspers shot 32.3 percent (20-of-62) from the field, including 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from long range, and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) at the line.
Martinez, the MAAC's leading scorer, finished with 18 points while also handing out a team-best six assists for Iona. Adams and Sabrina Jeridore each had a double-double for the Gaels. Adams tallied 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Jeridore posted 15 points and 14 boards. Aleesha Powell added 12 points. Iona shot 42.9 percent (27-of-63) from the field and outrebounded Manhattan 51-31. The Gaels went 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) from downtown and 12-for-14 (85.7 percent) at the charity stripe.
After playing their last three on the road, the Jaspers return home for the only time in a six-game stretch on Thursday night. Niagara (5-12, 3-5 MAAC) comes to Riverdale for a 7 p.m. matchup.
NOTES: The Jaspers lead the all-time series 44-25, but Iona has won each of the last three meetings…Stec's previous career-high was nine rebounds, which she achieved twice, most recently against Delaware State on Nov. 26…Her double-double was the fifth by a Jasper this season, and the first since Kayla Grimme (Altoona, Pa.) had 16 points and 10 rebounds at Oakland on Dec. 6…The five double-doubles equals Manhattan's total from last season…Roeder made her 100th career start in the game, becoming just the eighth player in program history, as well as one of only 26 active players in the nation, to reach the century mark…She passed Donna Seybold on the all-time scoring list and now has 1,220 career points…Isaacs reentered the starting five for the frist time since the Fairfield game on Jan. 9 and dished out four assists…Ericksen and Reese both celebrated their birthday on Monday.