Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – A Manhattan College women's basketball team that was without two injured starters and another key contributor put forth a game effort against a Quinnipiac squad that's ranked 25th nationally among mid-major teams at Draddy Gymnasium on Tuesday. However, the short-handed Jaspers (13-14, 10-8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) dropped an 81-63 decision to the first-place Bobcats (20-7, 15-3 MAAC), who won for the 15th consecutive time.
Quinnipiac came out of the gate on fire, jumping out to a 10-1 lead three minutes into the contest and extending that advantage to 29-6 at the end of the first quarter. After the Bobcats increased the margin to 27 points, 47-20, with 1:37 remaining in the first half, Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, PA) sank a layup and Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) drained a pair of foul shots to cut the Jaspers' deficit to 47-24. The Bobcats' Brittany Martin then sank a jumper to give Quinnipiac a 49-24 cushion at the break.
After Quinnipiac opened up its biggest lead of the game, a 63-34 advantage, with 2:33 left in the third quarter, the Jaspers went on an 8-2 rally to pull within 65-42. The Bobcats held a 68-42 edge entering the final period and led by as many as 28 points during the fourth quarter. However, Manhattan scored the final eight points of the game to make the final margin 18 points, 81-63.
Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) tallied 17 points to go along with seven assists and seven steals. Blake Underhill (Edgewater, NJ) finished with 12 points, while Grimme posted nine points, four rebounds and three blocks. Kylla Champagne (Paterson, NJ) also grabbed four rebounds for the Jaspers, who shot 38 percent (19-of-50) from the field. Manhattan went 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from long range and 22-for-28 (78.6 percent) at the free throw line.
Maria Napolitano led four Bobcats in double-figures with 14 points. She also collected three steals. Adily Martucci contributed 12 points and three assists, while Paula Strautmane added 11 points and Sarah Shewan tallied 10 points. Aryn McClure just missed a double-double, finishing with eight points and nine rebounds. Quinnipiac, which outrebounded Manhattan 40-26, shot 50 percent (31-of-62) from the floor, 40 percent (8-of-20) from downtown, and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) at the charity stripe.
On Friday night, the Jaspers return to action with a 7 p.m. matchup at Saint Peter's (4-23, 2-16 MAAC). Manhattan clinches a first-round bye in the MAAC Tournament with a victory and a Monmouth loss to Rider.
NOTES: Manhattan was without starters Shayna Ericksen (Long Valley, NJ) and Nyasha Irizarry (Brooklyn, NY), as well as Crystal Ross (Philadelphia, PA), who served a one-game suspension as a result of Sunday's incident at Niagara…The contest was originally scheduled for Jan. 31, but postponed due to a mechanical issue at Draddy Gymnasium…Manhattan and Quinnipiac split the season series for the first time…The Bobcats lead the all-time series 7-1…Tatum had at least five steals in a game for the seventh time this season…She went to the line 16 times in the contest (making 13), becoming the first Jasper with 15 free throw attempts in a game since Abby Wentworth shot 16 at Niagara on Jan. 16, 2009…Manhattan allowed 80 points for the first time since an 84-67 loss at Monmouth on Feb. 26, 2015…The game, which was the opener of a doubleheader with the Manhattan men's team, was broadcast live on ESPN3.