Box Score
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – The Manhattan College women's basketball team earned its 10th Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) victory of the season on Sunday afternoon. With the 58-49 triumph over Niagara (6-21, 4-14 MAAC) at the Gallagher Center, the Jaspers (13-13, 10-7 MAAC) maintained their hold on fifth place in the MAAC and the final first-round bye in the conference tournament.
With the Jaspers up 4-3 at the 5:42 mark of the first quarter, Kylla Champagne (Paterson, NJ) hit a layup to start an 8-0 run that extended Manhattan's advantage to 13-4. The Jaspers led 15-7 after one period, then pushed the margin to nine, 17-8, on a Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) layup early in the second. Niagara hit four three-pointers in the quarter, but each time the Jaspers responded with a trey of their own, and Manhattan took a 30-23 cushion into the locker room.
Niagara chipped away at the Manhattan lead throughout a low-scoring third quarter. After the Purple Eagles pulled within two at 34-32, Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT) drove for a layup and Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, PA) sank a free throw to bring the margin back to five, 37-32, with 33 seconds left in the frame. A Sam Lapszynski layup at the 17-second mark cut Manhattan's advantage to three, 37-34, entering the final period.
It was still a three-point game, 38-35, early in the fourth quarter when an Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) layup started a 14-3 Manhattan rally that put the Jaspers up 49-38 with 4:31 remaining. Niagara scored eight of the next 10 points to trim the Manhattan lead to five, 51-46, with 42 seconds left. The Jaspers made seven consecutive free throws down the stretch, though, to go up 12 before Tiffany Corselli sank a trey for Niagara to make the final margin nine points, 58-49.
Grimme notched her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds. She added three assists. Champagne tallied a career-high 13 points to go along with seven boards, while Maeve Parahus (Congers, NY) recorded nine points on three treys. The Jaspers shot 32.7 percent (16-of-49) from the field and outrebounded the Purple Eagles 38-37. Manhattan went 4-for-12 (33.3 percent) from downtown and 22-for-32 (68.8 percent) at the free throw line.
Corselli registered a game-high 14 points for Niagara. Jamie Sherburne added 12 points, while Kaylee Stroemple tallied eight points and eight rebounds. Lapszynski grabbed 11 rebounds, and Taylor McKay secured eight boards to go along with four assists. The Purple Eagles shot 28.8 percent (15-of-52) from the floor, 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from long range, and 63.2 percent (12-of-19) at the charity stripe.
On Tuesday, the Jaspers continue their string of five games in 10 days with a 5 p.m. matchup against defending MAAC champion Quinnipiac (19-7, 14-3 MAAC) that will be broadcast live on ESPN3 as part of a doubleheader with the Manhattan men's team. Manhattan notched a 52-42 victory over the Bobcats when the squads met in Connecticut on Dec. 6.
NOTES: Manhattan reached double-digit conference victories and is guaranteed to finish at least .500 in the MAAC for the first time since the 2011-12 season…The Jaspers swept the season series with Niagara for the first time since 2010-11 and evened the all-time series at 28-28…Manhattan used a different starting lineup for the fourth straight game and the ninth time this season, with Crystal Ross (Philadelphia, PA) making her first start since Nov. 24…The Jaspers improved to 4-0 this season when holding their opponent under 50 points…The Manhattan bench outscored the Niagara bench 24-3…Champagne's previous career-high was 12 points at Holy Cross on Dec. 12…Grimme's last double-double was a 13-point, 10-rebound effort in the win at Marist on Feb. 8…There were five technical fouls in the game (three on Manhattan, two on Niagara), all of which occurred at the 6:49 mark of the first quarter.