Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. – In an important game for positioning in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the Manhattan College women's basketball team (7-17, 6-9 MAAC) came away with a 52-44 victory over Canisius (9-15, 5-10 MAAC) at the Koessler Athletic Center on Thursday night. With the win, the Jaspers moved one game ahead of the Griffs in the standings, as well as clinching the tiebreaker over Canisius.
Canisius led 4-2 early before Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) sank a three-pointer to start a 10-2 Manhattan run that put the Jaspers in front 12-6 with 11:36 left in the first half. After the Griffs rallied to tie it at 15-15, Manhattan regained the lead on back-to-back buckets by Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.). A Jamie Ruttle layup pulled Canisius back within two, but a trey by Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) and a Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) jumper gave the Jaspers a 24-19 halftime advantage.
The Jaspers used stifling defense to increase their lead early in the second half. Manhattan held Canisius to just one field goal and forced seven turnovers over the first 12 minutes of the period. The Jaspers outscored the Griffs 18-4 during that span to open up a 42-23 advantage. After Ruttle finally got Canisius back on the board with a layup at the 8:57 mark, Manhattan increased its lead to a game-high 20 points at 45-25 when Isaacs was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank all three free throws with 8:06 remaining.
However, Canisius battled back. The Griffs trimmed their deficit to 48-36 on a Tiahana Mills layup with 1:11 left before Blake Underhill (Edgewater, N.J.) hit a pair of foul shots for the Jaspers. After an Emily Weber layup for Canisius, Skrec countered with two free throws of her own to make it 52-38 with 42 seconds to go. Kayla Hoohuli scored six late points for Canisius, but it wasn't enough, as the Jaspers held on for a 52-44 victory.
Ericksen paced three Jaspers in double figures with 13 points to go along with four steals. Isaacs had 11 points off the bench, while Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) tallied 10 points and a game-high six rebounds. Skrec added seven points and tied a career-high with 10 assists. She also recorded five boards and three steals. The Jaspers went 20-for-51 (39.2 percent) from the field, but were limited to just 4-for-21 (19 percent) shooting from beyond the arc. Manhattan shot 72.7 percent (8-of-11) at the charity stripe.
Hoohuli had 11 points to lead Canisius. Ruttle finished with nine points and five rebounds, while Emily Weber contributed eight points. Mills, meanwhile, distributed a team-high three assists. Courtney VandeBovenkamp and Weber pulled down five rebounds apiece, as the Griffs outrebounded the Jaspers 32-31. Canisius shot 34 percent (17-of-50) from the floor, 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from three-point range, and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) at the free throw line.
Manhattan continues its Western New York swing with a visit to Niagara at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Purple Eagles (8-16, 6-9 MAAC) defeated the Jaspers in overtime, 71-67, at Draddy Gymnasium on Jan. 23.
NOTES: The Jaspers swept the season series with the Griffs for the third time in four seasons and have won eight of the last nine meetings between the teams…Canisius leads the all-time series 29-25…With five points, Roeder moved past Marianne Reilly into seventh place on Manhattan's all-time scoring list (1,307)…Skrec has previously handed out 10 assists twice, including the contest at Monmouth on Jan. 26…Manhattan's six blocks in the game matched a season-high…The Jaspers held their opponent under 50 points for the second time in three games and the third time this season…Manhattan scored 16 points off 21 Canisius turnovers and recorded 12 steals...The Jaspers played on Thursday for the sixth consecutive week.