Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College women's basketball team faced a tough task in its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) road game of the season on Friday night, a visit to eight-time defending conference champion Marist. The Jaspers (3-9, 2-1 MAAC) trailed by just three midway through the first half before the Red Foxes (9-4, 3-0 MAAC) pulled away for a 70-46 victory at McCann Arena, snapping Manhattan's two-game winning streak.
The game started out as a grind-it-out defensive battle. Marist led 6-3 before an Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) jumper and a Blake Underhill (Edgewater, N.J.) free throw knotted it at 6-6 with 14:07 left in the first half. Despite missing 11 of their first 13 shots, the Jaspers kept it close thanks to free throws and defensive pressure, and Manhattan trailed by just three, 13-10, after Allison Skrec's (Roselle, N.J.) layup at the 9:20 mark.
“In all honesty, 13-10 was exactly what we wanted,” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “(We wanted) a lower scoring game where we kind of lull them to sleep a little bit. Our game plan was to keep the game close in the first half, and then chip away in the second half.”
However, Marist went on a 17-6 run over the next 6:24 to open up a 30-16 advantage. The Jaspers then scored seven of the final 11 points of the half to trim their deficit to 34-23 at intermission.
After a Marist bucket and a pair of Underhill free throws early in the second half, the Red Foxes used a 14-4 rally to increase their lead to 21 points, 50-29, with 12:42 remaining. Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) hit a three and Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) followed with a jumper to make it a 16-point game, 50-34, at the 11:59 mark, but Marist responded by scoring 17 of the next 25 points to open up a 25-point cushion, 67-42, with 4:02 to play. Ericksen sank a couple of late layups before the Red Foxes ended the scoring with a three-pointer that closed out the 70-46 victory.
Skrec was the only Jasper in double figures, notching 12 points to go along with four assists. Ericksen finished with nine points and five rebounds, while Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) contributed seven points. Stec grabbed a team-high six boards. The Jaspers were held to season-lows of 28.8 percent (15-of-52) shooting from the field and 11.8 percent (2-of-17) from three-point range. Manhattan was 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) at the free throw line.
Emma O'Connor tallied 16 points and seven rebounds for Marist, while Madeline Blais registered 13 points and seven boards. Tori Jarosz added 11 points off the bench, and Brittni Lai contributed nine points. Natalie Gomez-Martinez had a game-high five assists. Leanne Ockenden, meanwhile, notched four assists to go along with seven rebounds, as the Red Foxes outrebounded the Jaspers 40-28. Marist shot 45.8 percent (22-of-48) from the floor, 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from downtown, and 75 percent (18-of-24) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan returns home on Sunday afternoon, when Siena (5-6, 0-2 MAAC) comes to Draddy Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. matchup. The Saints have won four straight against the Jaspers, including both meetings last season.
NOTES: It was Marist's 40th consecutive home conference win, and 34th straight MAAC victory overall…The last MAAC team to beat the Red Foxes was the Jaspers, 48-44, on Feb. 4, 2012…Marist has won four straight against Manhattan since that game and leads the all-time series 24-23…The Jaspers haven't won at McCann Arena since the 2002-03 season…Manhattan wasn't credited with a blocked shot for the third time this season…The Jaspers tipped off at 7 p.m. for the only time in a seven-game stretch, and played on the road for the only time in a six-game span.