With three games left in MAAC play, the Jaspers improve to 7-8 in the league (9-17 overall). Iona falls to 2-14 in the MAAC and 3-24 on the year.
Highlights:
- Celebrating her birthday Friday, freshman Kania Pollock (Queens, NY / The Mary Louis Academy) had a team-high 12 points for Manhattan, including four in the third quarter to help the Jaspers overcome a two-point halftime deficit. She went 5-13 from the floor and 2-3 from the foul line.
- Sophomore center Courtney Warley (West Chester, PA / Bishop Shanahan) earned her fourth double-double of the year, contributing 10 points and 11 boards. She also set a career-high in steals with seven, including five in in the first half.
- Lynette Taitt (Irvington, NJ / Bishop Loughlin) added 10 points to the Jaspers' offense, the eighth time in nine games she has scored in double-figures. She also earned a game-high five assists.
- Shooting just 25 percent from the floor to open the game, the Jaspers found themselves down 17-8 at the end of the first quarter. Manhattan allowed Iona 10 points off nine turnovers in the quarter, while the Gaels shot 50 percent in the period.
- The Jaspers made a strong comeback in the second, outscoring Iona 17-10. Pollock alone made the difference on the scoring end, with seven of her own in the quarter, as well as three defensive rebounds. Warley added pressure to the Gaels' offense with three steals in the second, putting Manhattan down 27-25 at the half.
- The Jaspers opened the third quarter with a 12-3 run, overtaking Iona to lead 37-30 with 4:37 to play in the period. Junior Julie Hoier (Aabyhoej, Denmark / Marselisborg Gymnasium) would score the last four points of the quarter for Manhattan to keep the Jaspers up 41-35 with 10 to play.
- Pollock sank a free throw to give Manhattan a 49-41 lead with just over four minutes to go in the final quarter. Iona then scored nine straight, taking over the lead with 30 seconds to go. Iona leading scorer Morgan Rachu contributed five of those points, including going 3-4 from the charity stripe.
- Down one with 22 seconds to go, Taitt sank a jumper in the key to put the Jaspers back on top 51-50. The play marked the second-straight game Taitt has given Manhattan the lead late: She hit a layup with 1:15 to go at Rider on February 17, giving the Jaspers a 56-55 lead.
- With 21 seconds to play, Manhattan forced a huge five-second call in the Gaels' half court to regain possession. Taitt was fouled on the inbound play and sent to the line, where she hit both to go up 53-50.
- Juana Camilion cut the lead to one with a layup on the other end, but the Gaels were forced to foul Hoier on the subsequent inbound in an attempt to regain the ball. Hoier went 1-2, giving the Jaspers a two-point cushion. Camilion missed a jumper to tie, with time expiring as the rebound was batted around.
- Rachu scored a game-high 17 for Iona, while Camilion added 14 of her own. Tori Lesko pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, including 13 on the defensive end.
- After committing 13 turnovers in the first half, the Jaspers allowed just five in second. They forced 23 from Iona for the game, while combining for 11 team steals.
- Manhattan shot more than 39 percent in the second half, going 11-28 from the floor. They also hit 5-7 free throws in the final two quarters and shot 70 percent from the line for the game.
- The Jaspers and Gaels were even in the paint at 16 apiece for the game. Manhattan edged Iona with a 19-17 advantage off of turnovers and 4-2 on second-chance points.
Manhattan will celebrate Senior Day against Saint Peter's on February 24 in Draddy starting at 2:00 p.m.