Box Score
BRONX, N.Y. – On Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan College women's basketball team concluded a five-game road trip by making the short trek across town for the annual “Battle of the Bronx” against Fordham. The defending Atlantic 10 champion Rams (7-4) took the crosstown matchup for the fourth consecutive time, posting a 70-41 triumph over the Jaspers (1-7) at Rose Hill Gym.
Play was back-and-forth to start, and the Jaspers took an 8-6 lead on a Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, Pa.) layup with 13:38 remaining in the first half. However, Fordham scored the next 16 points to open up a 22-8 advantage at the 8:35 mark. A layup by Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) got Manhattan within 12 at 22-10 before Fordham extended its cushion to 16 points, 34-18, at intermission.
A three-pointer by Alex Cohen (Nashua, N.H.) trimmed the Jaspers' deficit to 15 at 38-23 with 15:36 to go, but Hannah Missry hit a trey on the other side to start a 10-0 Fordham run that increased the margin to 25 points, 48-23. After Blake Underhill (Edgewater, N.J.) hit a jumper to make it 54-32 at the 9:01 mark, the Rams went on an 11-2 rally to open up a game-high 31-point advantage, 65-34. The final margin was 29 points, as Fordham sent Manhattan to its sixth consecutive loss, 70-41.
Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, Pa.) set career-highs in both scoring and rebounding, pacing the Jaspers with nine points and five boards. Underhill contributed six points and four assists, while Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) finished with five rebounds. Manhattan shot 26.7 percent (16-of-60) from the field, 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from three-point range, and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) at the free throw line.
G'mrice Davis just missed a double-double for Fordham, notching game-highs with 15 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Emily Tapio added 10 points, while Samantha Clark finished with seven points, eight rebounds and three assists. Tiffany Ruffin handed out six assists for the Rams, who shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the floor and 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from downtown. Fordham also shot 58.8 percent (10-of-17) at the charity stripe and outrebounded Manhattan 47-33.
After playing five straight and seven of their first eight away from home, the Jaspers don't hit the road again for more than a month. Manhattan begins a school-record eight-game homestand by welcoming American (3-5) to Draddy Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. matchup on Wednesday.
NOTES: The Jaspers and Rams have met at least once every season since 1978-79, the first year of women's basketball as a varsity sport at Manhattan, with Manhattan leading the all-time series, 24-22…Nicole Anderson (Hamden, Conn.) returned to the lineup after missing five games due to injury and got the start…Manhattan used its sixth different starting lineup in eight games this season…Guiton had nine points for her career entering the game…The last time Manhattan didn't have a player reach double-figures in the scoring column was Nov. 11, 2011 at Hartford…Fordham is one of three opponents (Army, Marist) on the 2014-15 schedule that appeared in last season's NCAA Tournament.