Box Score
ALBANY, N.Y. – On Thursday afternoon, the Manhattan College women's basketball team took on Niagara in the first round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. The 11th-seeded Jaspers (3-27) got 14 points from Taylor Williams (Windsor, Conn.) and 12 from Blake Underhill (Edgewater, N.J.), but ultimately came up short, dropping a 57-51 decision to the sixth-seeded Purple Eagles (14-16) at the Times Union Center.
After Manhattan scored the first basket of the game, Niagara rallied for nine of the next 10 points to open up a 9-3 advantage. The Jaspers responded with a 6-0 run of their own, though, tying the score at 9-9 on a layup by Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, N.J.) at the 14:16 mark of the first half. The Purple Eagles countered with two straight buckets before Williams drained a trey to make it a one-point game, 13-12, with 12:20 remaining until halftime.
Niagara then went on an 11-4 rally to create an eight-point margin, 24-16, with 7:50 left in the period. The Purple Eagles were still up eight, 28-20, at the 1:50 mark, but Ericksen hit a jumper and Williams sank a layup to cut Manhattan's deficit to four, 28-24, at intermission.
The Jaspers tied it at 29-29 early in the second half before the Purple Eagles scored four straight points to regain a 33-29 advantage. However, a Nicole Anderson (Hamden, Conn.) free throw, followed by an Ashley Stec (Cazenovia, N.J.) jumper and an Underhill layup gave Manhattan its first lead since it was 2-0, a 33-32 advantage with 15:40 to go.
Manhattan's lead wouldn't last long, however, as Victoria Rampado hit a layup on the other end to put the Purple Eagles back in front. Niagara extended the margin to five points at 43-38, but Underhill converted on a pair of foul shots with 7:47 left to once again pull the Jaspers within three, 43-40.
It would remain 43-40 for nearly three minutes before Niagara's Meghan McGuinness nailed a three-pointer to double the margin. Rampado then hit two free throws to make it a 48-40 game, but the Jaspers again battled back, as Kayla Grimme (Altoona, Pa.) was fouled on a layup and drained the free throw to pull her team within five, 48-43, with 3:45 remaining. However, the Purple Eagles scored eight of the next 12 points to take their largest lead of the game, 56-47, with 1:20 to go, and Niagara held on for a 57-51 triumph.
“I thought our team played really hard today,” Head Coach John Olenowski said. “Late in the game when we needed a key basket, we just couldn't find the answer. Conversely, on the other side, when we needed a key stop, they hit a big bucket.”
Williams had three rebounds to go along with her 14 points, while Underhill also handed out five assists. Stec tallied nine points and eight rebounds in her final game as a Jasper, and Grimme finished with nine points, six boards and two blocks. Ericksen, meanwhile, contributed six points and six rebounds. Manhattan shot 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the field, 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from three-point land, and 64.7 percent (11-of-17) at the free throw line.
For Niagara, Rampado led the way with a game-high 15 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds, as the Purple Eagles outrebounded the Jaspers 43-38. Taylor McKay contributed 10 points, while Donisha Watson tallied nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Kaylee Stroemple had eight points, five boards and three assists off the bench for the Purple Eagles, who shot 32.8 percent (19-of-58) as a team. Niagara went 3-for-9 (33.3 percent) from downtown and 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) at the charity stripe.
With the loss, Manhattan's 2014-15 season came to an end.
“We can take a lot from this game,” Olenowski said. “I think we can build on it and get ready for a great season next year.”
NOTES: Manhattan's last two MAAC Tournament games played in Albany have both been against Niagara...The Jaspers faced the Purple Eagles in the postseason for the third time in program history and the first time since 2010...Niagara improved to 2-1 against Manhattan in the MAAC Tournament and 28-26 all-time against the Jaspers...The Purple Eagles won all three meetings between the teams in 2014-15...Manhattan used its 18th different starting lineup of the season...The Jaspers had single-digit turnovers for the second time this season...It was the first time this season that Manhattan had the same shooting percentage as its opponent, as each team went an identical 19-for-58 from the floor...With six rebounds, Ericksen moved past Kelly Regan into 14th place on the Jaspers' all-time rebounding chart...Grimme's 37 blocks this season were the 10th-most in program history...Stec finished with a career free throw percentage of .827 (115-of-139), which is sixth-best mark in program history.