Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College women's basketball team hung right with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)-leading Iona on Saturday afternoon at Draddy Gymnasium. The Jaspers (6-17, 5-9 MAAC) trailed by two with 32 seconds left, but the first-place Gaels (20-3, 13-1 MAAC) hit their free throws down the stretch to come away with a 71-67 victory.
Both teams started off hot offensively. Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) sank a three-pointer on the first possession of the game, and the sides traded buckets before Iona hit three straight treys to open up a 17-12 advantage. Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) drained a three to cut the Jaspers' deficit to two, 17-15, then an Ashley Stec (Cazenova, N.Y.) layup knotted the score at 17-17. Skrec capped the 8-0 Manhattan run by nailing a trey that gave the Jaspers a 20-17 advantage with 11:17 left in the first half.
Iona tied it at 20-20 on a Damika Martinez three-pointer on the other end to tie it at 20-20, but Manhattan immediately went back in front on a Skrec layup. That sequence repeated itself on each team's next possession, then Cassidee Ranger drained a trey to put Iona up 26-24 midway through the first half. After Roeder responded with a three for Manhattan, another Martinez long ball on the ensuing Iona possession started a 9-0 run that gave the Gaels an eight-point, 35-27, cushion. Manhattan scored the next four points to cut the margin in half before Iona brought its lead back to seven, 40-33, at intermission.
“They (Iona) made 7-of-9 threes, and you've got to try and match that production somehow,” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “We were fortunate to get some good layups, and we really had a good motion offense going. We were able to stay within striking distance even though they were extremely hot in that first half.”
A Roeder three-pointer two minutes into the second half pulled the Jaspers within three at 43-40, but the Gaels went on a 10-2 run over the next 5:38 to increase the margin to 11 points, 53-42. It was still a 10-point game, 55-45, when Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) drained a trey to ignite the Manhattan comeback.
The Jaspers pulled within three, 59-56, at the 5:30 mark before Aleesha Powell hit a big three-pointer as the shot clock expired to open up a six-point lead for the Gaels, 62-56. Iona led 68-62 after Martinez hit a jumper with 1:38 left, but Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) followed her own miss, then added another layup on the next Manhattan possession to make it a two-point game, 68-66, with 32 seconds left.
Olenowski called his final timeout to set his defense, and, with only four team fouls to that point, the Jaspers were able to go for the steal. However, the third attempt at the takeaway put Iona into the one-and-one, and Martinez hit both free throws to give the Gaels a four-point lead. Stec then missed a layup and Iona's Joy Adams grabbed the rebound. She was fouled immediately and hit the front end of a one-and-one before missing the second intentionally. Skrec hit a foul shot with nine seconds left to cap the scoring in Iona's 71-67 triumph.
“We'd won two of our past three games and played well in those games,” Olenowski said. “We said we can play a great basketball game tonight, and we did. We were within two with 30 seconds to go, and a break or a steal here or there, and we have the opportunity to tie or win. That's about the best I can ask for from our team. I'm extremely proud of our effort. That's what we were looking for today.”
Roeder paced the Jaspers with 18 points and seven rebounds. She also distributed four assists. Skrec finished with 17 points and five assists, while Ericksen tallied 16 points and seven boards. Stec contributed eight points, six rebounds and three assists for Manhattan, which shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field. The Jaspers went 8-for-20 (40 percent) from long range and 11-for-12 (91.7 percent) at the free throw line.
Martinez, the MAAC's leading scorer, recorded 27 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Adams, meanwhile, notched her NCAA-best 21st double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds, as the Gaels outrebounded the Jaspers 33-31. Aaliyah Robinson tallied 15 points, while Powell posted 14 points and nine assists. Iona shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor, 40.6 percent (13-of-32) from downtown, and 54.5 percent (6-of-11) at the charity stripe.
After three straight home games, the Jaspers are on the road for four of their next five. Manhattan begins a three-game road trip with a matchup at Canisius (9-13, 5-8 MAAC) on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Jaspers opened their MAAC schedule with a 72-56 victory over the Griffs on Dec. 29.
NOTES: The Jaspers and Gaels met for the 70th time, and Manhattan leads the all-time series 44-26…Iona defeated Manhattan for the fourth straight time…Manhattan has alternated wins and losses in its last four games…The Jaspers made their first 11 free throw attempts before recording their only miss with nine seconds left…With 18 points, Roeder became the eighth player in program history with 1,300 career points…Roeder sank four three-pointers in a game for the fifth time this season and now has 232 career treys.