Box Score
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY – Gabby Cajou (Stony Point, NY) tallied a career-high 13 points, including a trey with 18 seconds left that proved to be the difference, as the Manhattan College women's basketball team (4-4) snapped its three-game losing streak with a 55-52 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn (1-7) at the Pope Physical Education Center on Wednesday evening.
Manhattan trailed 49-48 when Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) hit a jumper with 1:43 remaining. After the Terriers missed a trey, Tatum grabbed the rebound and connected with Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT), whose layup made it 52-49 and prompted a St. Francis Brooklyn timeout with 1:11 left. St. Francis Brooklyn cut its deficit to one when Olivia Levey sank a pair of free throws at the 48-second mark, then, on the ensuing Manhattan possession, Cajou drained a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to increase the Jaspers' advantage to four, 55-51.
“We put ourselves in a good position to attack the basket and score,” Cajou said. “Amani drove in, kicked it to Julie (Høier), and Julie made the extra pass. I was there and hit the shot.”
“All year I've been trying to tell Gabby that I want her to be a weapon for us,” Head Coach Heather Vulin added. “On that last play when Julie kicked it to her, she was shot-ready. She made a big shot, and I was really happy for her.”
Levey drew a foul on the other end and made the first free throw before missing the second. The ball went out of bounds, and, after checking the replay monitor, the officials awarded Manhattan possession. However, the Jaspers turned the ball over, giving the Terriers one last chance with just over seven seconds to go. St. Francis Brooklyn missed a trey at the buzzer, though, and the Jaspers secured a 55-52 victory.
“I was really impressed with the team,” Vulin said. “We played really hard tonight. We outrebounded them, which has been our Achilles heel during this losing streak. That was our first step towards getting back in the right direction, and we did a great job of that tonight.”
St. Francis Brooklyn took an early lead before the Jaspers went on a 10-0 run to go up 13-5, and Manhattan held a 16-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter. A Tatum layup with 6:26 remaining in the second quarter gave the Jaspers their largest lead of the contest, a 23-13 edge. A Cajou trey made it 28-19 at the 3:50 mark, but the Terriers ended the first half on a 7-2 run to cut Manhattan's cushion to four points, 30-26, at the break.
After the Jaspers pushed the margin back to six points at 36-30 with 6:21 remaining in the third quarter, St. Francis Brooklyn responded with an 8-2 rally to even the score at 38-38. The teams traded baskets before a Levey layup as time expired in the quarter gave the Terriers a 42-40 advantage entering the final period. Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) began the fourth quarter with a layup to tie the score once again, and it would be knotted five more times before Tatum's jumper that made it 50-49 put Manhattan in front for good.
Led by Cajou's 13 points and nine points from KellyAnne O'Reilly (Montville, NJ), as well as seven points from Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT), the Manhattan bench outscored the St. Francis Brooklyn reserves 31-12. Tatum finished with nine points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Grimme recorded six points, eight boards and three blocks. Julie Høier (Aabyhoej, Denmark), meanwhile, tallied six points, five rebounds and three assists in her first career start. The Jaspers shot 37.3 percent (22-of-59) from the field, including 31 percent (9-of-29) from long range, and made both of their free throw attempts.
For the Terriers, Levey led the way with a game-high 20 points. Maria Palarino finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Alex Delaney and Jade Johnson added eight points apiece. Delaney also distributed four assists. As a team, St. Francis Brooklyn shot 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the floor, 23.5 percent (4-of-17), and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) at the charity stripe.
The Jaspers now have 10 days off, their longest break of the season, before returning to action on Dec. 17, when they continue their four-game road trip with a visit to rival Fordham (6-3) for the annual “Battle of the Bronx.”
NOTES: This was the 17th all-time meeting between the teams, and the Jaspers now lead the all-time series 16-1…Manhattan has won 16 straight games against St. Francis Brooklyn, its longest active winning streak against any opponent…The Jaspers used their sixth different starting combination, with Høier and Nyasha Irizarry (Brooklyn, NY) each making her first start of the season…Manhattan is 3-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent…The Jaspers' four wins this season have been by a combined 14 points…O'Reilly's nine points matched her career-high.