Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Manhattan College women's basketball team (8-18, 7-10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) saw its two-game winning streak snapped with a 73-52 loss to Fairfield (18-8, 13-4 MAAC) at Alumni Hall on Friday night. Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) tallied 15 points to pace the Jaspers.
Things started off tight, as Fairfield took a 9-8 lead on a three-pointer by Alexys Vazquez, but Manhattan went right back in front on a trey by Maeve Parahus (Congers, N.Y.) on the other end. The Jaspers increased their cushion to 15-12 on a pair of Stec free throws midway through the first half before Kristin Schatzlein's three-pointer evened the score again at 15-15. The teams then traded baskets before Katie Cizynski tallied 10 straight points for Fairfield, allowing the Stags to build a 29-23 advantage. Stec hit a layup with 50 seconds left in the half, though, cutting the margin to four, 29-25, at the break.
Fairfield came out on fire in the second half. The Stags opened the period on a 19-6 run to open up a 48-31 lead with 11:20 remaining. Manhattan got buckets from Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) and Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) to trim its deficit to 13 points, 48-35, but Fairfield responded with an 8-2 rally to make it a 21-point game, 58-37, at the 7:24 mark.
Manhattan used an 8-2 run of its own to get back within 15 at 60-45, but would pull no closer. The Stags' advantage reached a game-high 23 points on Kristine Miller's layup that made it 73-50 with 39 seconds to go, and Blake Underhill (Edgewater, N.J.) drained a late layup to cap the scoring in the 73-52 Fairfield victory.
Stec was one of three Jaspers in double figures. Skrec finished with 14 points and five assists, while Roeder notched 10 points and a team-high five rebounds. Kylla Champagne (Paterson, N.J.) added four boards in nine minutes off the bench. Manhattan shot 39.6 percent (19-of-48) from the field and 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from long range. The Jaspers were also a perfect 9-for-9 (100 percent) at the charity stripe.
Cizynski had a double-double for the Stags, collecting a career-high 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Vazquez added 17 points, while Schatzlein notched nine points and nine assists off the bench. Felicia DaCruz handed out 10 assists, as Fairfield distributed 26 helpers (compared to just seven turnovers) as a team. The Stags shot 53.4 percent (31-of-58) from the floor, including 61.3 percent (19-of-31) in the second half, and outrebounded the Jaspers 34-25. Fairfield was 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) from three-point land, but just 3-for-9 (33.3 percent) at the free throw line.
The Jaspers will play two of their final three regular season contests at home, starting with a 2 p.m. matchup against eight-time defending MAAC champion Marist (21-6, 15-2 MAAC) on Sunday. The Red Foxes notched a 70-46 victory over Manhattan in Poughkeepsie on Jan. 3. Marist has only dropped two conference road games since 2009-10, with both of those losses coming at Draddy Gymnasium.
NOTES: Manhattan has faced Fairfield more than any other opponent in program history…It was the 78th all-time meeting in a series that the Stags lead 42-36…Fairfield has won six straight against Manhattan…The Jaspers didn't miss a free throw for the second time this season (9-for-9 vs. La Salle on Nov. 24)…Roeder was held without a three-point field goal for the first time since Jan. 3, a span of 13 games…Stec is averaging 14.7 points over her last three games…Manhattan's three-game road winning streak was snapped, as the Jaspers suffered their first road loss since Jan. 26.