Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – Prior to its contest with Quinnipiac on Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan College women's basketball team honored seniors Nicole Anderson (Hamden, CT) and Maeve Parahus (Congers, NY) for their years of service to the program. The Jaspers (8-19, 4-14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) were unable to cap the day with a victory, though, as the first-place Bobcats (22-6, 15-3 MAAC) came away with a 69-49 win at Draddy Gymnasium.
“They (Maeve and Nicole) are outstanding young ladies,” Head Coach Heather Vulin said. “I've really enjoyed working with them this year. We're really going to miss their energy and commitment to the team. They're just really good people.”
After Quinnipiac jumped out to a 6-0 lead, an Anderson layup started a 9-2 Manhattan run, and the Jaspers went in front 9-8 on a Taylor Williams (Windsor, CT) three-pointer with 4:02 left in the first quarter. However, the Bobcats scored the final six points of the period to take a 14-9 lead into the second quarter. Quinnipiac increased its advantage to 19 points at 31-12 with 1:26 remaining in the first half before a pair of Williams layups trimmed Manhattan's deficit to 31-16 at intermission.
The Jaspers outscored the Bobcats 19-17 in the third quarter to pull within 48-35. However, Quinnipiac started the fourth period on a 9-3 rally to push the margin back to 19 points, 57-38, with 6:30 to go. The Bobcats' advantage reached a game-high 22 points at 67-45 with 2:32 remaining, and Quinnipiac won by a score of 69-49.
Mikki Guiton (Schwenksville, PA) paced the Jaspers with 10 points, while Kayla Grimme (Altoona, PA) just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 boards. Nyasha Irizarry (Brooklyn, NY) added nine points and seven boards, and Amani Tatum (Cambria Heights, NY) finished with eight points to go along with seven assists, six steals and five rebounds. Manhattan shot 35 percent (21-of-60) from the floor, 25 percent (4-of-16) from downtown, and 75 percent (3-of-4) at the charity stripe.
For the Bobcats, Adily Martucci led the way with 15 points. Sarah Shewan added 14 points and four rebounds, while Aryn McClure tallied 10 points. Paula Strautmane finished with nine points, seven boards and five steals, and Carly Fabbri recorded eight points to go along with three assists. Jen Fay, meanwhile, posted seven points and seven rebounds, as Quinnipiac outrebounded Manhattan 36-35. The Bobcats shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62) from the field, 40 percent (4-of-10) from long range, and 83.3 percent (5-of-6) at the free throw line.
Manhattan has two games remaining in the regular season, starting with its home finale against Monmouth (12-14, 7-10 MAAC) at 7 p.m. on Friday. It will be the second meeting in eight days between the squads, as the Jaspers notched a 75-61 victory over the Hawks on Thursday.
NOTES: Quinnipiac leads the all-time series 9-1…Manhattan used its 19th different starting lineup of the season, with Anderson and Parahus both making the start…Parahus, who has never missed a game in her collegiate career, played in her 118th consecutive contest on Sunday…Grimme recorded double-digit rebounds for the ninth time this season…With seven assists, Tatum now has 103 on the season, making her the first Jasper with back-to-back 100-assist campaigns since Allison Skrec in 2012-13 and 2013-14…The contest was the opening game of a doubleheader, as the Manhattan and Quinnipiac men's teams squared off at 6 p.m.