Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) made Manhattan College women's basketball history in her final game at Draddy Gymnasium. With five three-pointers against Quinnipiac on “Senior Day,” Roeder broke Tiffany Schettig's Manhattan record for career treys. She ended up with 19 points in the contest, but the Jaspers (9-20, 8-12 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) were unable to come away with the victory, dropping an 86-78 decision to Quinnipiac (19-11, 14-6 MAAC) on Saturday afternoon.
Along with Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.), Roeder was honored before the game, and she entered the contest needing four treys to tie Schettig's mark. She sank three in the first half, then tied the record and knotted the game at 37-37 with 17:51 remaining. Roeder then hit her record-breaking fifth trey, the 247th of her career, with 5:54 left in the contest.
“I don't think either one of us had the slightest idea (how close Roeder was to the record),” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “Both of us are trying to win a basketball game, so neither one of us was trying to do that. She just did it naturally.”
Manhattan quickly raced out to a 5-0 lead before Quinnipiac rallied to tie the score at 5-5. The Jaspers countered with an 8-2 rally to open up a 13-7 advantage, and a Roeder jumper at the 11:22 mark gave Manhattan a 19-11 lead. After a Roeder trey made it 22-15 with 9:52 left before halftime, Quinnipiac went on a 9-0 run to pull in front, 24-22.
Maeve Parahus (Congers, N.Y.) tied the game with a layup, then Nicole Isaacs (Fair Haven, N.J.) was fouled on a three-pointer and sank all three free throws to give the lead back to Manhattan, 27-24. The Jaspers increased their cushion to four points at 29-25 on Blake Underhill's (Edgewater, N.J.) fast break layup with 3:50 to go in the half. However, Quinnipiac scored nine of the final 10 points of the half to take a 34-30 advantage into the locker room.
After Roeder's record-tying trey knotted the score at 37-37 with 17:51 left, the Bobcats went on a 9-2 run to open up a 46-39 advantage. Manhattan got back within four on Shayna Ericksen's (Long Valley, N.J.) jumper that made it 51-47 at the 14:04 mark, but Quinnipiac eventually ran its cushion to 14 points at 71-57 with 6:55 remaining.
A pair of Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.Y.) free throws started Manhattan's comeback attempt, and the Jaspers got within six when Isaacs hit a trey to make it 78-72 with 3:15 left. Quinnipiac scored the next four points to bring the margin back to 10, but a Stec layup and an Ericksen jumper once again brought Manhattan within six at 82-76 with 1:22 to play. However, with the Jaspers forced to foul, the Bobcats hit four free throws down the stretch to wrap up an 86-78 victory.
“They hit shots from the outside, and (Brittany) McQuain was just so tough inside,” Olenowski said. “And on top of that, they've got a great point guard, so they had the three-headed attack, which is very difficult to defend.”
Roeder notched six rebounds and three steals to go along with her 19 points. Isaacs added 18 points after draining four treys and going 6-for-6 at the free throw line. She also had three assists. Stec registered 14 points and a team-high seven boards, while Ericksen posted 13 points and five rebounds. Skrec handed out a career-high 11 assists while also tallying eight points in her final home game as a Jasper. Manhattan shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor, and the teams finished with 32 rebounds apiece. The Jaspers went 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) from downtown and 17-for-21 (81 percent) at the foul line.
Four Bobcats reached double-figures in the scoring column, led by Jasmine Martin's 19 points. McQuain added 18 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Samantha Guastella finished with 15 points and four blocks. Ellen Cannon contributed 13 points, and Nikoline Ostergaard tallied seven points and four assists to go along with seven boards. Quinnipiac shot 51.9 percent (27-of-52) from the field, 50 percent (11-of-22) from long range, and 70 percent (21-of-30) at the charity stripe.
The Jaspers must now wait until the conclusion of Sunday's games to find out their seed and opponent in next weekend's MAAC Tournament. Manhattan will be playing in the first round on Thursday as the No. 6, 7 or 8 seed. If Canisius beats Rider and Niagara beats Fairfield, the Jaspers will be seeded eighth and play No. 9 Monmouth. Manhattan gets the No. 7 seed and a matchup with No. 10 Siena if either Rider or Fairfield wins. If both Canisius and Niagara lose, the Jaspers will be the No. 6 seed and face 11th-seeded Saint Peter's.
“We were picked second-to-last, and if all goes well, hopefully we'll get a pretty good seed and we'll get a chance to make a little noise up in Massachusetts,” Olenowski said.
NOTES: Schettig's previous record of 246 career three-pointers had stood since 2002-03…Roeder sank at least five treys in a game for the second time this season and the ninth time in her career…She also tied Schettig's all-time record for career starts (112)…The Jaspers have never beaten the Bobcats in four all-time meetings…Manhattan played Quinnipiac, one of this season's two new MAAC members, at Draddy Gymnasium for the first time since Dec. 2, 2006…The Jaspers used a different starting lineup for the first time in five games, with Underhill moving back into the starting five…Skrec previously had 10 assists four times, including three times this season…She has 182 assists this season, the second-most for a single-season in program history…Skrec also moved past Sheila Tighe into fifth place on Manhattan's all-time assists chart (368).