Manhattan-Quinnipiac Game Notes
Game 29: Quinnipiac Bobcats (18-11, 13-6 MAAC) at Manhattan Jaspers (9-19, 8-11 MAAC)
Saturday, March 1, 2014-2:00 p.m.
Riverdale, N.Y.-Draddy Gymnasium (2,520)
Video: JasperVision HD
Audio: www.gojaspers.com, www.quinnipiacbobcats.com
JASPERS VS. BOBCATS
Manhattan (9-19, 8-11 MAAC) hosts Quinnipiac (18-11, 13-6 MAAC) in its regular season finale looking to wrap up at least the No. 6 seed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. The Jaspers notched a 50-41 victory at Saint Peter's on Wednesday night, while the Bobcats are coming off an 80-72 loss to regular-season champion Iona on Thursday. Today is “Senior Day” at Draddy Gymnasium, as the Jaspers will honor Monica Roeder and Allison Skrec prior to their final home contest.
ABOUT MANHATTAN
The Jaspers (9-19, 8-11 MAAC) look to close out the regular season with a victory for the sixth time in seven years and secure at least the No. 6 seed in next weekend's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. Manhattan is coming off a 50-41 victory over Saint Peter's on Wednesday night and has won three of its last five. Seniors Monica Roeder and Allison Skrec will be honored prior to today's game. Roeder is the Jaspers' leading scorer with 12.0 points per game. She also averages a team-high 2.0 three-pointers per contest. Meanwhile, Skrec's 171 assists this season are the second-most for a single-season in program history. She ranks second in the MAAC and 20th nationally with 6.1 assists per outing, and she adds 9.8 points per contest. Sophomore forward Shayna Ericksen notches 9.1 points and a team-best 5.6 rebounds a night. Manhattan will be seeded either fifth or sixth in the MAAC Tournament with a win, but could potentially drop as far as eighth with a loss.
ABOUT QUINNIPIAC
Quinnipiac (18-11, 13-6 MAAC) had a three-game winning streak snapped with an 80-72 loss to Iona on Thursday night. Junior guard Jasmine Martin paces the Bobcats with 15.2 points per game, while senior forward Brittany McQuain is averaging close to a double-double this season. She registers 12.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while also ranking second in the MAAC with 1.9 steals per contest and adding 1.1 blocks a night. Junior forward Samantha Guastella, meanwhile, notches 10.9 points per game and leads the Bobcats with 2.0 three-pointers per outing. In addition, she ranks fourth in the MAAC in blocks with an average of 1.3 per contest. Junior guard Gillian Abshire is the national leader in assist/turnover ratio (3.72), and she ranks fourth nationally in assists (6.9 apg). Quinnipiac has earned the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the MAAC Tournament. The Bobcats will play the No. 5 seed (either Rider or Manhattan) in the quarterfinals on Friday.
SERIES HISTORY
The Jaspers are 0-3 against Quinnipiac in three all-time meetings. Quinnipiac is the only opponent on Manhattan's 2013-14 schedule that the Jaspers have never beaten. In the first-ever conference game between the schools, the Bobcats came away with a 77-74 victory at the TD Bank Sports Center on Jan. 12. The only previous time Manhattan and Quinnipiac played at Draddy Gymnasium was on Dec. 2, 2006, when the Bobcats notched a 59-54 triumph.
MANHATTAN 50, SAINT PETER'S 41
Only four players scored for the Jaspers on Wednesday night, but it was enough to pull out a 50-41 victory over Saint Peter's at the Yanitelli Center. Manhattan led 28-22 at halftime, but used a 9-0 run midway through the second half to open up a 41-27 advantage. Saint Peter's chipped away and had pulled within six, at 47-41 when Shayna Ericksen was fouled on a layup and made the free throw to make it a nine-point game, 50-41, with 31 seconds left. Ashley Stec, Allison Skrec and Monica Roeder tallied Manhattan's first 43 points of the game before Ericksen sealed the win with seven points down the stretch. Stec finished with a game-high 16 points, while Skrec just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine assists. Roeder finished with 13 points, and Ericksen pulled down a team-best seven rebounds to go along with her seven points.
POSTSEASON PICTURE
The Jaspers will be seeded anywhere between fifth and eighth in next weekend's MAAC Tournament. Manhattan is currently tied with Niagara and Canisius for sixth place, but owns the three-way tiebreaker for the No. 6 seed. The Jaspers, Purple Eagles and Griffs are one game behind fifth-place Rider with one game remaining. Rider visits Canisius and Niagara hosts Fairfield on Sunday. If Manhattan and Canisius both win (regardless of the Niagara-Fairfield result), the Jaspers will own the tiebreaker and earn a first-round bye as the No. 5 seed. Only Manhattan or Rider can be the No. 5 seed, and the Jaspers wrap up at least the No. 6 seed with a victory today. If the Jaspers lose and either Niagara or Canisius wins (but not both), Manhattan will be the No. 7 seed. If Manhattan loses and Niagara and Canisius both win, the Jaspers will fall to the No. 8 seed. Quinnipiac, meanwhile, is locked into the No. 4 seed in the MAAC Tournament.