Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – For the Manhattan College women's basketball team, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) season couldn't have started any better. Four Jaspers scored in double figures, as Manhattan (3-4, 1-0 MAAC) led virtually wire-to-wire in an 80-62 triumph over Niagara (1-5, 0-1 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium on Friday night.
“It's always important to get that first conference win,” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “The players were very focused tonight and did a great job.”
After Niagara took an early 5-2 advantage, a jumper by Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) and a three-pointer by Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT) put Manhattan in front 7-5. A Tiffany Corselli trey on the other end momentarily gave the lead back to the Purple Eagles, but Williams responded with another three, and the Jaspers never trailed again. It was still a two-point game when Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, NJ) hit a layup, then Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA) converted a steal into an easy two points to extend Manhattan's cushion to 19-13 after one quarter.
Manhattan pushed the lead to 15 points at 33-18 on Nyasha Irizarry's (Brooklyn, NY) trey at the 2:56 mark of the second quarter, but Niagara countered with a 6-0 rally to get within nine, 33-24. Irizarry drained another three with 22 seconds left in the half, though, and the Jaspers took a 36-24 advantage into the locker room.
Niagara trimmed its deficit to nine at 40-31 midway through the third quarter before Manhattan ended the frame on a 19-9 rally to extend the margin to 19 points, 59-40. The lead reached a game-high 23 points when a Williams jumper made it 70-47 with 5:13 to go, and the Jaspers cruised to an 80-62 triumph.
Williams paced Manhattan with 17 points, while Crystal Ross (Philadelphia, PA) tallied 14 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. Grimme finished with 10 points, seven boards and six blocks. Ericksen, meanwhile, contributed 10 points and six rebounds. Blake Underhill (Edgewater, NJ) had seven points and four assists, and Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) collected six points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals. Manhattan shot 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the field and outrebounded Niagara 39-32. The Jaspers went 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) from long range and 9-for-13 (69.2 percent) at the free throw line.
Corselli led Niagara with 16 points, while Sam Lapszynski finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. Kaylee Stroemple tallied seven points, seven boards, four assists and four steals for the Purple Eagles, and Jamie Sherburne handed out a team-high five assists. Niagara shot 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the floor, 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from three-point land, and 54.5 percent (12-of-22) at the charity stripe.
On Sunday afternoon, the Jaspers begin a stretch where they play six out of seven on the road with a 2 p.m. matchup at defending MAAC champion Quinnipiac (4-3, 0-1 MAAC).
NOTES: The Jaspers won their MAAC opener four times in five seasons and the fifth time in Olenowski's seven years as head coach…Manhattan snapped a three-game losing streak against the Purple Eagles…Niagara leads the all-time series 28-27…The Jaspers opened their conference slate against Niagara for the third time in program history…Ross became the first Jasper to go perfect from the field (minimum 5 attempts) since Caitlin Flood went 10-for-10 against Siena on Jan. 11, 2008…Grimme had at least five blocks for the third time in seven games this season…Manhattan is 3-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points…Courtney Hagaman (Toms River, NJ) scored her first career points in the game.