POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - Manhattan women's basketball fell just short to Marist, 49-49 in a road contest Thursday evening.
Manhattan falls to 17-11 overall and 10-9 in league play, while Marist jumps to 6-23 and 4-15 in the MAAC.
"Rough shooting night on the road," said Head Coach Heather Vulin. "But very impressed with how well Bair played and our team's resilience in the second half."
Manhattan was led by Anne Bair who scored 16 points for the Jaspers, shooting 60% from the field. Ines Gimenez Monserrat added 13 for Manhattan.
Marist was led to victory by Morgan Lee who scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Catie Cunningham recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
In a game that was close throughout, the Jaspers trailed 11-10 after the first quarter. Marist would gain momentum in the second, allowing only seven points in the quarter, allowing them to grow their lead to a game high 10 points, going into the half up 27-17.
Manhattan would clamp down on defense, only allowing two points in the first five minutes of the second half. Manhattan would cut the lead down to 29-26, before the Red Foxes responded, to go up 36-28 with 3:35 remaining in the half. Manhattan would end the third quarter on a 9-2 run, ending with a Bair three-pointer on their final possession. Bair would hit another three-pointer, for the first basket of the fourth quarter, giving the Jaspers their first lead since early in the first quarter. Marist would tie the game before Nitzan Amar hit a three-pointer to go up 43-40 with 5:55 remaining. Marist would once again tie the game, and eventually retake the lead, 45-43 with 3:10 remaining. Leyla Ozturk hit a jumper to tie things at 45 with 1:55 remaining. Both teams came up empty in their next trips, before Cunningham would make a layup for Marist, giving them the lead with 26 seconds remaining. A Manhattan miss would be followed by another Marist layup putting them up four with five seconds to play. Amar would hit a three with one second to play but it would not be enough as the Jaspers would go down 49-48.
The Jaspers would gain spurts of momentum in the third, cutting a 25 point halftime deficit down to 15, and outscoring Fairfield in the quarter, 21-17. The fourth quarter was won by Fairfield 20-15, resulting in the Stags taking home a 77-53 victory, remaining undefeated in conference play.
Manhattan takes the court again Saturday March 9th when they travel home for their regular season finale against Iona. Senior day ceremonies will take place before the start of the game.
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