Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College women's basketball team began its 2014-15 campaign by hosting Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday night. Despite a career-high 16 points from Maeve Parahus (Congers, N.Y.), the Jaspers (0-1) came up short, dropping a 73-54 decision to the Knights (1-0) at Draddy Gymnasium.
The Jaspers took a 10-8 lead on a three-pointer by Nyasha Irizarry (Brooklyn, N.Y.), then extended that advantage to five points, 15-10, on a Parahus trey at the 8:43 mark. The Knights scored the next four points to pull within one before a Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) layup started a 12-4 Manhattan spurt that gave the Jaspers their largest lead of the game, a 27-18 edge with 2:31 left before halftime. However, Fairleigh Dickinson ended the half on a 6-0 run to cut its deficit to three, 27-24, at intermission.
After Irizarry hit a layup to make it 31-26 early in the second half, the Knights rattled off 11 straight points in little more than three minutes to take a six-point lead, 37-31, with 15:31 remaining. An Irizarry jumper brought the Jaspers within three at 41-38 with 11:07 to go, but Fairleigh Dickinson sank back-to-back treys to increase its cushion to nine points, 47-38, at the 10:09 mark.
Fairleigh Dickinson led 54-44 with 6:22 remaining before a Parahus three started a 6-0 run that cut Manhattan's deficit to four at 54-50. However, the Knights drained three-pointers on their next two possessions to again open up a 10-point margin, 60-50, with 3:25 left. After a Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, Pa.) layup made it 62-52 in favor of the Knights, Fairleigh Dickinson ended the game on an 11-2 run to pull away for a 73-54 victory.
Parahus drained five three-pointers to account for 15 of her 16 points. Ericksen recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Irizarry contributed nine points in her Manhattan debut. Thompson, meanwhile, dished out seven assists. As a team, the Jaspers shot 34.4 percent (22-of-64) from the field, 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from three-point land, and 44.4 percent (4-of-9) at the line.
Five players scored in double figures for Fairleigh Dickinson, led by Erika Livermore's 22 points and 16 boards. Valerie Oyakhilome and Brianna Thomas recorded 14 points apiece, while Amanda Andrades had 13 points to go along with five assists and four steals. Kiana Brown added 10 points, and Anastasia Williams collected seven rebounds. Thomas pulled down eight boards, as the Knights outrebounded the Jaspers 58-41, including a 30-18 advantage on the offensive glass. Fairleigh Dickinson shot 33.8 percent (25-of-74) from the field and 76.2 percent (16-of-21) at the charity stripe. The Knights also went 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from downtown, with all seven treys coming in the second half.
Manhattan plays its first road game of the season on Sunday, when the Jaspers visit Holy Cross (0-0) at 2 p.m. Six of the Jaspers' next seven contests will be away from home.
NOTES: Manhattan played Fairleigh Dickinson in its first game for the second straight season…The Jaspers now lead the all-time series 12-7…Manhattan opened the season at home for the second time in three years…Five different players—Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, Pa.), Sheridan Heine (Corning, N.Y.), Irizarry, Thompson, and Taylor Williams (Windsor, Conn.)—made their Jasper debuts on Friday night, including three who got the start (Irizarry, Thompson and Williams)…Manhattan started two true freshmen in the season opener for the first time in Head Coach John Olenowski's tenure…Ericksen had a double-double against Fairleigh Dickinson in the season opener for the second straight year…Parahus' previous career-high was seven points against Rider on Feb. 1, 2014…The Jaspers had eight blocks in the game, with Kylla Champagne (Paterson, N.J.), Kayla Grimme (Altoona, Pa.) and Parahus recording two blocks apiece.