Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – It was “Alumni Day” at Draddy Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon, and the Manhattan College women's basketball team started off strong for the nearly 25 former players in attendance. Unfortunately, though, the Jaspers (5-16, 4-8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) were unable to maintain their early momentum in a 73-56 loss to Rider (10-11, 6-6 MAAC).
Manhattan quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead just 1:39 into the game. However, Rider responded with a 7-0 run of its own to knot the score. The Jaspers went back in front on a three-point play by Blake Underhill (Edgewater, N.J.), and Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) followed with a pair of free throws to put Manhattan up 12-7 with 14:58 left in the first half.
The Broncs countered with six straight points to take the lead before a Maeve Parahus (Congers, N.Y.) layup put the Jaspers back in front, 14-13, at the 12:00 mark. Manhattan increased its advantage to four points at 18-14 before Rider used a 5-0 run to regain the lead. After a Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) layup made it 20-19 in favor of the Jaspers, Rider ended the half on a 15-6 spurt to take a 34-26 cushion into the locker room.
After Rider scored the first six points of the second half to increase the margin to 40-26, Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) drained a trey to bring Manhattan within 11. It was still an 11-point game, 44-33, with 14:16 left when the Broncs went on a 14-4 rally to open up a 21-point advantage, 58-37. The Jaspers got a Parahus three and an Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) and-one to cut their deficit to 15 points, 58-43, with 5:27 left, but would pull no closer. Rider extended its cushion to a game-high 22 points at 73-51 with 59 seconds remaining before Roeder scored the final five points of the contest to make the final 73-56.
“Defensively we didn't have our intensity,” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “Rider's too good to let them stay in the game like that. And then to have dry spells on the offensive end, it's very disappointing.”
Roeder tallied 14 points to lead the Jaspers. Skrec added 10 points and six rebounds, while Isaacs also posted 10 points. Ericksen grabbed a team-best seven rebounds, and Parahus registered a career-high seven points off the bench. Manhattan shot 39.5 percent (17-of-43) from the field, but was just 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from long range. The Jaspers shot 90.5 percent (19-of-21) at the free throw line.
MyNeshia McKenzie recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Mikal Johnson and Shereen Lightbourne each posted 12 points, while Johnson also notched three blocks. Lashay Banks had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Julia Duggan grabbed nine boards, as the Broncs outrebounded the Jaspers 34-24. Manon Pellet, meanwhile, tallied three assists and three steals to go along with eight points. As a team, Rider shot 42 percent (21-of-50) from the field, 40 percent (6-of-15) from downtown, and 71.4 percent (25-of-35) at the charity stripe.
The Jaspers continue their three-game homestand on Thursday, when they take on Saint Peter's (3-18, 2-10 MAAC) at 7 p.m. It will be Manhattan's annual “Play 4 Kay” game for breast cancer awareness, and all fans are encouraged to wear pink.
NOTES: Manhattan and Rider split the season series for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign…Rider has won at Draddy Gymnasium in back-to-back years for the first time since 2003-04 and 2004-05…The Jaspers lead the all-time series 27-11…Parahus' previous career-high was five points, which she recorded three times, most recently at Siena on Thursday night…With six assists, Skrec became the eighth player in program history to hand out 300 for her career…All alumni in attendance were recognized at halftime, and there was a postgame alumni reception.