Manhattan University Athletics

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Manhattan held Quinnipiac to 17 second-half points as the Manhattan women's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 MAAC Championships after defeating the Bobcats 50-43 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall Thursday afternoon.

This is the second year in a row the Jaspers have sent the Bobcats back to Hamden from Atlantic City, with Manhattan topping them in the semifinals last year, 72-59.

Manhattan moves to the semifinals and will get another look at the Niagara Purple Eagles tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at Jim Whealan Boardwalk Hall.

"I am incredibly proud of my team. When I say this year has been all about adversity, it truly has been, on and off the court," said head coach Heather Vulin postgame. "We were excited about coming to MAACs because it's a new season, a second season, and we're 2-0. I'm proud of this team."

Quinnipiac was able to force Dee Dee Davis out of the action within the first four minutes of the game, but the Jasper offense was unfazed. Manhattan concluded the first quarter owning a lead of 14-10.

Quinnipiac responded with a run of their own in the second quarter, starting at the 5:03 mark in the second quarter, The Bobcats pounced on the Jaspers' defense while utilizing a zone to stifle the Jasper offense and went on a 14-2 run to close out the quarter which was capped off by an and-one from Rose Caverly to give Quinnipiac a slim 26-23 halftime advantage.

The third quarter was as much of a battle as the previous two, but Manhattan used a pair of free throws by Davis, who reentered the game after sitting the whole first half after exiting with two fouls, to build some offensive momentum through the Quinnipiac zone. Petra Juric finished through hard contact for an and-one and sank the free throw to within one, then Davis swung the lead back to Manhattan with a transition basket off a Juric steal.

Davis made it a two-possession game, 36-31, with a long-distance connection. The Bobcats thought they had tied the game going into the final period, but Davis drew contact at mid-court from QU's Mackenzie Helms to go to the line with three-tenths of a second left. Davis sank both to take a two-point lead into the final quarter, 39-37.
 

The Jaspers clamped down in the fourth quarter, holding Quinnipiac to six total points in the final quarter. However, four of those points came in quick succession in the last two minutes, including a Caverly steal and a transition layup by Ella O'Donnell with just under 90 seconds left to get within two. That would be close as they get Manhattan kept them off the board, hit their free throws, and then celebrated their win while joined on the court by the Jasper spirit squads.

Juric and Davis turned in two marvelous performances Friday. Juric followed up Tuesday's double-double with another one today with 12 points and 11 rebounds, seven offensive. Davis finished with 15 points, all in the second half, and six rebounds.

"We don't care if we've lost one or two games to Quinnipiac," said Davis when discussing adjustments the team made for this game after losing both regular season meetings. "As Coach V mentioned, postseason play is a whole different ballgame. It's 0-0. With that in mind, we don't hang our heads or think about the past two games we played against Quinnipiac. We stuck to our game plan. We pride ourselves on defense and rebounding and stuck to that; we hit some shots along with that, and we capitalized on that."

As for the Bobcats, Mary Baskerville led the way with 12 points and nine rebounds.

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