Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College women's basketball team hosted its annual “Kid's Day Out” game on Thursday, as more than 800 students from local schools were in attendance for the Jaspers' matchup with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rival Fairfield. Unfortunately, though, the kids didn't get the chance to celebrate a Manhattan victory, as the Stags (9-5, 4-1 MAAC) posted a 59-49 win over the Jaspers (3-11, 2-3 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium.
The Jaspers raced out to an 8-2 lead just six minutes into the game, but Fairfield responded with a 10-0 run to go in front 12-8. However, Manhattan came storming back, scoring seven of the next nine points, pulling ahead 15-14 on Blake Underhill's (Edgewater, N.J.) steal and jumper at the 7:53 mark. The Jaspers then extended their advantage to four points on a Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) trey that made it 20-16 with 4:16 to go in the half.
Fairfield rallied to tie it at 20-20 before Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) hit a jumper and Roeder sank another three-ball to put the Jaspers up 25-20 with 1:53 remaining in the period, and Manhattan took a 26-22 cushion into the locker room.
“I thought we did a really good job on the defensive end in the first half,” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “With a team like that, you know they're going to come out in the second half and eventually hit some shots. Unfortunately, they did, and we weren't able to match that output.”
After the Stags pulled within one at 28-27 early in the second half, an Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) layup sparked a 10-2 Manhattan run that gave the Jaspers their largest lead of the game, a 38-29 advantage with 14:25 remaining. However, Fairfield responded with a 9-1 rally of its own, getting back within one at 39-38 on an Alexys Vazquez trey at the 11:36 mark.
“The momentum changed when they (Fairfield) started hitting some outside shots,” Olenowski said. “They got it within one right before the media timeout to get the momentum on their side, and when they started hitting those shots, it was too difficult to overcome.”
A Skrec layup once again gave the Jaspers a three-point lead at 41-38 with 10:50 to play, but Kristin Schatzlein then drained a trey from the corner to even the score at 41-41 and ignite a 16-0 Fairfield run. The Stags opened up their largest lead of the contest, a 13-point cushion, on a Vazquez long ball that made it 56-43 with 3:46 remaining. It was still a 13-point game at 58-45 when Manhattan scored two late baskets to trim the final margin to nine, 58-49.
Roeder led three Jaspers in double-figures with 15 points. She also recorded three steals. Skrec finished with 14 points and four assists, while Ericksen just missed a double-double for the second straight game. She posted 11 points and nine rebounds. Underhill, meanwhile, chipped in six points and a career-high eight boards off the bench. Manhattan shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the field, but just 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from long range. The Jaspers went 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) at the line.
Katie Cizynski notched game-highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Stags. She also tallied three assists. Vazquez added 12 points on four three-pointers, while Schatzlein recorded nine points and five assists. Brittany Obi-Tabot grabbed 11 rebounds for Fairfield, which held a 38-30 advantage on the boards. The Stags shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the floor, 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from downtown, and 75 percent (3-of-4) at the charity stripe.
After playing five of their last six games at home, the Jaspers now hit the road for five of their next six. Manhattan visits Quinnipiac (8-7, 3-2 MAAC) for the first time as MAAC opponents on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Jaspers haven't faced the Bobcats since 2006.
NOTES: Manhattan has faced Fairfield more than any other opponent in program history…The Stags beat the Jaspers for the fifth consecutive time and lead the all-time series 41-36…Manhattan saw its two-game winning streak on “Kid's Day Out” snapped…The 11 a.m. start time was Manhattan's earliest of the regular season…As part of the “Kid's Day Out” festivities, various members of the Manhattan Athletic Department talked about their different roles prior to the game, and there was a game of knockout at halftime…The Jaspers used a different starting lineup for the third straight game and the ninth time this season…Underhill's previous career-high was four rebounds at Marist on Jan. 3…Manhattan's nine fouls and eight turnovers were both season-lows…There were just 20 fouls committed and a combined 10 free throw attempts in the game.