Manhattan University Athletics

BRONX, NY – After taking a 10-day break for exams, the Manhattan College women's basketball team returned to action with the annual “Battle of the Bronx” at rival Fordham on Saturday.  Trailing by three with the ball in the final seconds, the Jaspers (4-5) saw their game-tying three-point attempt fall short, as the Rams (8-4) posted a 63-60 victory at Rose Hill Gym.

The Jaspers led by 52-41 after three quarters and increased that lead to 14 points on a Julie Høier (Aabyhoej, Denmark) trey early in the fourth.  However, Fordham responded with a 13-1 run to pull within two, 56-54.  Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) hit a jumper at the 2:39 mark to push the margin back to four points, 58-54, but the Rams countered with eight straight points to take a four-point lead of their own, 62-58.

A Tatum jumper with 46 seconds to go made it 62-60, then Fordham took timeout and moved the ball into the frontcourt.  After a miss, the Rams grabbed the offensive rebound and Manhattan was forced to foul.  However, Danielle Burns went 1-for-2 at the line, giving the Jaspers an opportunity to tie the game.  Head Coach Heather Vulin used her last timeout and advanced the ball, but Tatum's trey was off the mark.  Fordham committed a foul on the rebound, though, which meant the Jaspers kept possession with just under five seconds left.  The inbounds play went to Maeve Parahus (Congers, NY), whose three-point attempt came up short, and the Rams grabbed the rebound to preserve the 63-60 win.

“At the end of the game, all you can ask for is that they execute and get a good look,” Vulin said.  “We had a really good look on that last play.  It just didn't go in.”

It was a back-and-forth tussle throughout, as neither side had a lead of more than four points throughout the first half.  Manhattan went up 13-9 on a pair of Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT) free throws with 2:26 left in the first quarter, but Fordham trimmed the margin to one, 15-14, at the end of the period.  With the Jaspers trailing 26-25, Gabby Cajou (Stony Point, NY) drove for a layup on the final play of the first half.  However, she was called for an offensive foul on the play and the Rams took a one-point edge into the locker room.

Fordham led 30-29 when Parahus sank a trey to put the Jaspers back in front midway through the second quarter.  The Rams were also called for a foul on the play, giving Manhattan another possession, which Cajou ended with a layup.  Tatum then had a steal and layup to make it a six-point game, 36-30.  The Jaspers held a 43-39 edge when another Tatum layup started a 9-2 rally that increased the margin to 52-41 entering the final period.

Tatum had 13 points, all in the second half, to lead the Jaspers.  She also tallied four assists and two steals.  Høier, meanwhile, recorded a career-high 11 points to go along with three assists.  Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) finished with seven points, and Cajou notched three assists and four steals.  Manhattan shot 42 percent (21-of-50) from the floor, 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from long range, and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) at the free throw line.

G'mrice Davis was named the Mike Cohen Most Outstanding Player after collecting 24 points and 18 rebounds for the Rams.  Burns finished with 17 points, while Kate Kreslina tallied eight points.  Lauren Holden and Asnate Fomina distributed three assists apiece for Fordham.  The Rams shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field and outrebounded the Jaspers 39-24.  Fordham went 4-for-12 (33.3 percent) from three-point land and 13-for-18 (72.2 percent) at the charity stripe.

Manhattan concludes its four-game road trip with a 6 p.m. visit to Bucknell (6-3) on Tuesday.  The Bison posted a 61-56 win over the Jaspers last season at Draddy Gymnasium.