Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – After playing four straight on the road, the Manhattan College women's basketball team returned home on Tuesday morning to begin a four-game homestand with its annual “Kid's Day Out” contest. In front more than 1,200 fans, including approximately 800 students at local elementary schools, the Jaspers (6-9, 3-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) dropped a 79-73 decision to Marist (5-11, 4-2 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium.
Both teams started off hot offensively. The Red Foxes took an early 8-3 lead, but Manhattan got a layup from Crystal Ross (Philadelphia, PA) and a Jacqui Thompson (Southampton, PA) trey to tie it at 8-8 midway through the first quarter. After Marist went on a 12-5 run to open up a 20-13 advantage with 1:55 left in the period, the Jaspers ended the frame on a 5-0 spurt to pull within three, 20-17.
A Kylla Champagne (Paterson, NJ) layup to start the second quarter made it a one-point game, and Manhattan tied the score at 28-28 on a Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, PA) layup with 4:47 left until halftime. Marist went back in front on a Tori Jarosz jumper, but Thompson responded with a three on the other end to give the Jaspers their first lead of the contest, 31-30. The Red Foxes scored the final six points of the quarter, though, and took a 36-31 advantage into the locker room.
Marist used a 14-6 run over the first four minutes of the third quarter to extend the margin to 13 points, 50-37, before the Jaspers countered with a 10-5 spurt to get back within eight, 55-47. After Sydney Coffey drained a pair of free throws to give the Red Foxes a 59-48 advantage with eight seconds left in the frame, Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, NJ) hit a layup on the other end to cut Manhattan's deficit to nine, 59-50, entering the final period.
However, the Red Foxes outscored the Jaspers 8-2 over the first 2:36 of the fourth quarter to take their largest lead of the game, a 67-52 advantage with 7:24 remaining. Manhattan responded with a 7-0 spurt to trim the margin to eight points, 67-59, but Marist again countered. The Red Foxes opened up a 74-61 cushion with 2:46 to go before the Jaspers rattled off six straight points to make it a seven-point game, 74-67, with 1:09 on the clock.
Manhattan got within six, 77-71, on an Ericksen layup at the 16-second mark, but an offensive rebound and putback by Jarosz pushed Marist's cushion back to eight, 79-71, with 14 seconds left. Thompson then hit a layup to cap the scoring, as the Red Foxes earned a 79-73 victory.
Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) finished one rebound shy of a double-double, posting 14 points and nine boards to go along with four blocks. Ericksen added 13 points, while Thompson went for 13 points on 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range. Thompson also handed out four assists. Nyasha Irizarry (Brooklyn, NY) registered 11 points and five assists, and Champagne tallied eight points. Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) distributed seven of Manhattan's 24 assists. The Jaspers, who committed just nine turnovers, shot 44.3 percent (31-of-70) from the field, 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from downtown, and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) at the charity stripe.
Jarosz, the MAAC's leading scorer, had a double-double with 27 points and 17 rebounds. She also recorded six blocks and four assists. Coffey finished with 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Allie Clement added 14 points, five boards and four assists for the Red Foxes. Marist shot 54.9 percent (28-of-51) from the floor and outrebounded Manhattan 37-30. The Red Foxes went 8-for-16 (50 percent) from beyond the arc and 15-for-21 (71.4 percent) at the free throw line.
The Jaspers, who have played three games in the last five days, are now off until Saturday, when they host Fairfield (6-9, 1-5 MAAC) at 2 p.m. Manhattan posted a 70-55 victory over the Stags on Jan. 8.
NOTES: Manhattan played Marist on “Kids' Day Out” for the second consecutive year…Students at Community School 300, P.S. 86, P.S. 93 and P.S. 107 participated in an essay contest on the topic of “teamwork,” with the winners receiving t-shirts at halftime…It was Manhattan's second “Kid's Day Out” game in five days…The Jaspers will participate in another “Kid's Day Out” contest at Monmouth on Feb. 2…The Red Foxes have won eight straight against the Jaspers and lead the all-time series 27-23…Manhattan lost despite scoring 70 points for the first time this season…The Jaspers' 24 assists were their most in a game since dishing out 26 against Robert Morris in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational on March 14, 2012…With four rebounds, Ericksen moved past Nadia Peters into 12th place on Manhattan's all-time list (586)…Manhattan had four double-digit scorers for the third time this season and the first time since the win over Niagara on Dec. 4…Grimme attempted—and made—the first three-pointer of her career in the contest.