Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Down by three with 27 seconds left in overtime, the Manhattan College women's basketball team had the ball and a chance to tie on Thursday night. However, Monica Roeder's (Marlton, N.J.) three-point attempt was off the mark and Niagara's Chanel Johnson grabbed the rebound. Johnson then went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to ice a 71-67 victory for the Purple Eagles (6-12, 4-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) over the Jaspers (4-14, 3-6 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium.
The game was tied 63-63 at the end of regulation, and it stayed that way until Johnson hit a layup 1:39 into the extra session to give Niagara a two-point lead. After Sam Lapzynski went 1-for-2 at the line to increase the Purple Eagles' advantage to three, Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) sank a free throw to make it a 66-64 game. Niagara turned the ball over on its next possession, and Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) immediately responded with a three-pointer from the top of the key that gave Manhattan its first lead of overtime, 67-66, with 1:31 remaining.
Kelly Van Leeuwen hit a pair of foul shots to put Niagara back in front, 68-67, before the Purple Eagles forced a shot clock violation on the other end. Johnson then hit a layup with 27 seconds left to increase the margin to three points, 70-67. After a Niagara timeout, Manhattan was forced to look for a three. Roeder fired a tough shot from the left elbow, but it was short. Johnson secured the rebound and was fouled immediately. She missed her first free throw before nailing the second to give Niagara the 71-67 win.
Manhattan rallied to force overtime after trailing by 13 points midway through the second half, and the Jaspers had a chance to win it in regulation. Niagara had possession with 21 seconds left in a 63-63 game when Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) came up with a steal and Manhattan Head Coach John Olenowski immediately called his last timeout. The play was designed for Ericksen at the top of the key, but her jumper came up short at the seven-second mark. Niagara then fired a desperation three at the buzzer that was well off the mark, sending the game into overtime.
“The effort down the stretch was certainly there,” Olenowski said. “We came back and gave it everything we had at the end, but it's a 40-minute game.”
Both teams started off hot from the floor, and Roeder had nine early points as the Jaspers quickly jumped out to a 16-9 advantage a little more than five minutes into the contest. Niagara scored the next six points to pull within one before an 8-0 Manhattan spurt, capped by a Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) three-ball brought the lead to nine points, 24-15, with 9:10 left in the first half.
Niagara countered with seven straight points to get back within two, but the Jaspers then went on a 12-4 run to open up a 10-point cushion, 36-26, with 2:10 remaining before halftime. The Purple Eagles ended the half on a 6-0 rally, though, and Manhattan led by just four, 36-32, at the break.
Four straight Ericksen points to start the second half brought Manhattan's advantage back to eight, 40-32, but a pair of Johnson free throws at the 18:59 mark sparked a 25-4 Niagara run that gave the Purple Eagles a 57-44 advantage with 11:14 left in regulation.
The Manhattan comeback started with a Skrec trey, and the Jaspers held Niagara scoreless for more than five minutes as they cut their deficit from 13 points to three, 57-54. After two Johnson free throws increased the Purple Eagles' lead to five, the teams traded layups before a Stec jumper again made it a three-point game, 61-58, with 4:09 to go. Niagara missed a jumper on its next possession and Skrec grabbed the rebound for the Jaspers.
Roeder then hit a game-tying three, but it was waived off because of an offensive foul that took place just before the shot. However, the Jaspers forced a shot clock violation on the ensuing Niagara possession, giving Roeder another chance to tie the game, which she did by swishing a three from the corner with 2:57 left. Niagara regained the lead on a Taylor McKay jumper at the 2:16 mark, and Manhattan tied it once again at 63-63 on an Ericksen bucket with 1:08 to play.
Ericksen notched a game-high 17 points to pace the Jaspers. She also grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Roeder finished with 15 points, while Stec added 12 points, five boards and three steals. Skrec tallied nine points on three clutch three-pointers to go along with seven assists and three steals. The Jaspers shot 34.8 percent (24-of-69) from the field, but were just 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) from the floor in overtime. Manhattan shot 26.5 percent (9-of-34) from long range and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) at the free throw line.
Johnson paced the Purple Eagles with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists. McKay notched 14 points, eight boards, five assists and four steals off the bench, while Victoria Rampado contributed eight points and eight rebounds. Niagara shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) for the game and outrebounded Manhattan 49-25. The Purple Eagles went 2-for-8 (25 percent) from downtown and 11-for-15 (73.3 percent) at the charity stripe.
The Jaspers are back on the road on Sunday, when they visit Monmouth (4-15, 3-5 MAAC) at 2 p.m. Manhattan posted a 65-59 victory over the Hawks at Draddy Gymnasium on Dec. 31.
NOTES: The all-time series between Manhattan and Niagara is now even at 25-25…The Jaspers used their 11th different starting lineup of the season, with Stec making her first start since the Siena game on Jan. 5…Manhattan's last overtime game was a 63-60 loss to Towson on Nov. 10, 2012…The Jaspers' last three overtime contests have all been home games…Manhattan forced 29 Niagara turnovers and had 15 steals in the game…The Jaspers had a positive assist-turnover ratio for the eighth time this season...Manhattan's 34 three-point attempts were a season-high…Kylla Champagne (Paterson, N.J.) contributed a career-high five points off the bench…It was the Jaspers' only contest at Draddy Gymnasium in a six-game span.