Box Score
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – For just the second time in program history, the Manhattan College women's basketball team completed a sweep of the Buffalo trip on Saturday afternoon. Behind a career-high 19 points from Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and a double-double by Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.), the Jaspers (8-17, 7-9 MAAC) knocked off Niagara (8-17, 6-10 MAAC) 64-56 at the Gallagher Center to move into sole possession of sixth place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
Both teams were on fire offensively early on, and the score was knotted at 10-10 less than five minutes into the contest. Skrec hit a three on the next Manhattan possession to give the Jaspers the lead, then, after a Sam Lapszynski layup, Stec drained a trey from the top of the key that was originally called a two but changed to a three on video review.
That trifecta started a 20-4 Manhattan run that put the Jaspers in front 33-16 with 6:43 left in the first half. However, Niagara responded with an 11-2 spurt of its own to trim its margin to eight points, 35-27, at intermission.
The Purple Eagles scored the first two baskets of the second half to pull within four, 35-31, before five straight points by Stec made it a nine-point margin, 40-31, with 15:50 remaining. Niagara kept clawing back, though, and once again cut its deficit to four at 43-39 at the 11:44 mark. However, Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) hit a huge three-pointer on the other end to push Manhattan's lead back to seven points, 46-39. After a Taylor McKay jumper for Niagara, Roeder sank another three to make it 49-41 in favor of the Jaspers with 9:30 to play.
Niagara rallied for five straight points to again get within three, 49-46, but Roeder was fouled on a layup and completed the three-point play to double Manhattan's advantage to 52-46 with 6:41 left. Chanel Johnson hit a layup on the other end before a Skrec trey and a Stec layup brought the margin back to nine points, 57-48, with 2:51 left. After the Purple Eagles got back within five, 57-52, at the 2:01 mark, Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) got the roll on a jumper and was fouled. Her free throw once again made it an eight-point game, 60-52, and the Jaspers went 4-for-4 at the foul line in the final minute to seal a 64-56 triumph.
Stec just missed her second career double-double with nine rebounds. Skrec, meanwhile, tied a career-high with 10 assists for the second straight game and added 13 points. Roeder finished with 14 points and three assists, while Ericksen had seven points and four rebounds. Manhattan shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field, including 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from long range, and 90 percent (9-of-10) at the free throw line.
Johnson paced the Purple Eagles with 16 points. She added six rebounds and three assists. Meghan McGuinness finished with 13 points and three steals, while McKay added 12 points. Victoria Rampado tallied eight points to go along with 10 rebounds and five blocks. Kelly Van Leeuwen distributed six assists for Niagara, which shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field and outrebounded Manhattan 35-27. The Purple Eagles shot 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from downtown and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan returns to action on Friday night with a 7 p.m. matchup at Fairfield (17-8, 12-4 MAAC). The Stags posted a 58-49 victory over the Jaspers on Jan. 9 and have won five straight against Manhattan.
NOTES: The only other Buffalo sweep in program history came during the 2010-11 campaign…That was also the last time the Jaspers won three straight road games…This is the first time both the Manhattan men's and women's teams went 2-0 on the Buffalo trip in the same season…Manhattan now holds a 26-25 advantage in the all-time series with Niagara…The Jaspers have notched back-to-back wins for the first time since knocking off Canisius and Monmouth on Dec. 29-31…Manhattan used a different starting lineup for the first time in four games, with Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) reentering the starting five…Skrec moved past Michelle Pacheco into seventh place on the Jaspers' all-time assists chart…She has recorded three 10-assist games this season…Stec's previous career-high was 17 points against Delaware State on Nov. 26.