Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – Trailing by three with 2.9 seconds left, the Manhattan College women's basketball team had the ball and a chance to tie on Sunday afternoon. However, a last-second half-court shot by KellyAnne O'Reilly (Montville, NJ) came up short, and the Jaspers (5-12, 1-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) dropped a 62-59 decision to Niagara (5-12, 2-6 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium.
It was a back-and-forth contest throughout, and the sides went into the fourth quarter deadlocked at 43-43. Manhattan opened the final period on an 8-2 run to go ahead 51-45, but Niagara countered with an 11-3 spurt to take a 56-54 advantage with 1:45 remaining. An O'Reilly free throw cut the margin to one, 56-55, before a steal and layup by Gabby Cajou (Stony Point, NY) put the Jaspers in front, 57-56, with 59 seconds to go.
After a pair of Kaylee Stroemple free throws gave the lead back to Niagara, the Jaspers missed a three on the other end. Manhattan was forced to foul Tiffany Corselli with 27 seconds left, and she went 1-for-2 at the line to make it a 59-57 game. Another Jaspers shot was off the mark, though, and Corselli grabbed the rebound for the Purple Eagles. However, she again made only one of the foul shots, allowing Manhattan to stay within three, 60-57.
Cajou drove for a layup to get her team within one, 60-59, forcing Niagara to use its final timeout with six seconds to go. Stroemple was fouled and made them both to make it 62-59 with 5.1 seconds left. Manhattan was forced to foul again after a turnover on the inbounds pass, and Adila Gaithers went 0-for-2 at the line to give the Jaspers a chance. With no timeouts remaining, the Jaspers had to go the length of the court, and O'Reilly's half-court attempt at the buzzer didn't fall.
Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, PA) finished with career-highs of 22 points and five assists to go along with seven rebounds. Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) had 12 points and seven boards, while Cajou recorded 10 points, four assists and three steals. As a team, the Jaspers shot 53.5 percent (23-of-43) from the field, 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from three-point range, and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) at the free throw line.
In the first quarter, Manhattan quickly jumped out to an 8-2 lead before Niagara went on a 5-0 run to pull within one, 8-7. Guiton responded with a pair of buckets, though, and the Jaspers held a 12-11 advantage after one period. A Cajou three-pointer to start the second quarter pushed the lead to four, 15-11, but the Purple Eagles countered with a 10-4 spurt to take a 21-19 lead. After a Grimme jumper tied it, a Maeve Parahus (Congers, NY) trey on the Jaspers' next possession gave the lead back to Manhattan. Parahus then extended it to a five-point lead, 28-23, with a jumper, and the Jaspers held a six-point edge, 31-25, at the break.
Manhattan extended its cushion to a game-high eight points at 33-25 on a Grimme layup to start the second half, but the Purple Eagles gradually chipped away at the margin. After Niagara used an 11-2 run to take a 38-37 lead with 5:54 remaining, neither team would score for nearly two minutes until a Guiton layup put the Jaspers back in front, 39-38. She then hit a jumper to extend the advantage to three at 41-38. The Purple Eagles tied it on a layup and free throw by Stroemple, though, and the score was even at 43-43 heading into the fourth quarter.
Stroemple paced the Purple Eagles with 15 points, and she added five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Victoria Rampado tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, while Morgan Baughman registered 10 points. Corselli finished with seven points to go along with seven boards, as Niagara outrebounded Manhattan 28-26. The Purple Eagles went 24-for-56 (42.9 percent) from the floor, 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) from downtown, and 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) at the charity stripe.
The Jaspers return to action on Friday night, when they welcome defending MAAC champion Iona (9-8, 4-4 MAAC) to Draddy Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. matchup. The Gaels knocked off Manhattan by a 70-53 count when the squads met in New Rochelle on Dec. 2.
NOTES: It was “Alumni Day” at Draddy Gymnasium, as there was an alumni game prior to the contest and the nearly 15 former Jaspers in attendance were recognized at halftime…Guiton nearly doubled her previous career-high of 12 points, which she's done twice, most recently at Brown on Nov. 22…Manhattan started three freshmen (Cajou, O'Reilly and Julie Høier) for the first time this season…Nyasha Irizarry (Brooklyn, NY) sank two three-pointers to move past Tonya Obey into seventh place on the Jaspers' all-time list…Manhattan shot better than 50 percent from the field field for the second time this season…Twenty of the Jasepers' 23 field goals were assisted…With the win, Niagara took a 29-28 lead in the all-time series…After playing four games over the first 10 days of 2017, this was Manhattan's only contest in a 10-day span.