Manhattan-Quinnipiac Game Notes
GAME #8: Manhattan Jaspers (3-4, 1-0 MAAC) at Quinnipiac Bobcats (4-3, 0-1 MAAC)
Sunday, December 6, 2015-7 p.m.
Hamden, CT-TD Bank Sports Center (3,300)
Video: Quinnipiac All-Access
Live Stats
JASPERS GAMEDAY
Fresh off an 80-62 triumph over Niagara in its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener on Friday, Manhattan (3-4, 1-0 MAAC) begins a span where it plays six out of seven on the road by visiting defending MAAC champion Quinnipiac (4-3, 0-1 MAAC) at the TD Bank Sports Center. The Jaspers opened conference play with a victory for the fourth time in the last five seasons, while the Bobcats had their 23-game winning streak against MAAC opponents snapped with a 56-47 loss at Marist on Thursday night. Manhattan is looking to begin MAAC play with two straight wins for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
MANHATTAN BREAKDOWN
The Jaspers (3-4, 1-0 MAAC) began their MAAC slate with a win for the fourth time in five years by defeating Niagara, 80-62, on Friday night. Sophomore guard Amani Tatum paces Manhattan with 11.9 points per game, and she's tied for the MAAC lead with 2.6 steals per contest. Sophomore guard Taylor Williams contributes 9.6 points and a team-best 1.6 three-pointers per outing, while sophomore center Kayla Grimme notches 8.1 points and 9.0 rebounds a night. She also averages a MAAC-high 3.7 blocks per game. Senior center Crystal Ross tallies 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest, and sophomore guard Nyasha Irizarry posts 7.3 points per outing. Senior guard Blake Underhill, meanwhile, distributes 3.0 assists a night to go along with 2.0 steals per game. After playing four games in eight days, Manhattan will get a six-day break before resuming its non-conference schedule by visiting Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon.
QUINNIPIAC BREAKDOWN
Quinnipiac (4-3, 0-1 MAAC), which went 20-0 in conference play en route to the MAAC title last season, saw its 23-game winning streak against MAAC foes come to an end with a 56-47 loss at Marist on Thursday. Senior guard Maria Napolitano, last season's MAAC Sixth Player of the Year, leads Quinnipiac in scoring. She averages 12.2 points per game. Junior guard Adily Martucci tallies 8.9 points per contest, while sophomore forward Sarah Shewan contributes 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per outing. Freshman guard/forward Aryn McClure pulls down a team-best 5.3 boards a night. She also paces the squad with 1.6 blocks per contest. Freshman guard Edel Thornton distributes 2.4 assists per game to lead the team, and freshman guard Brittany Martin adds 2.1 assists per outing. The Bobcats hit the road for each of their next four games, starting with a contest at Northeastern on Wednesday night.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Jaspers are winless in six all-time meetings against the Bobcats. Quinnipiac is the only team on the 2015-16 schedule that Manhattan has never beaten. Last season, the Bobcats posted an 85-51 victory at the TD Bank Sports Center on Jan. 18 and an 82-71 win at Draddy Gymnasium on Feb. 24. Quinnipiac has won each of the four matchups between the squads since joining the MAAC for the 2013-14 season.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Manhattan began its MAAC slate with an 80-62 win over Niagara at Draddy Gymnasium on Friday night. The Jaspers led 19-13 at the end of one quarter and extended their advantage to 12 points, 36-24, at halftime. After Niagara trimmed the margin to nine midway through the third quarter, Manhattan ended the frame on a 19-9 run to go up 59-40. The lead reached a game-high 23 points at 70-47 with 5:13 to go before the Jaspers closed out an 80-62 victory, which was Head Coach John Olenowski's 150th career win. Taylor Williams led four Jaspers in double-figures with 17 points, while Crystal Ross had 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. Kayla Grimme tallied 10 points, seven boards and six blocks, and Shayna Ericksen finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
A CENTURY AND A HALF
The Jaspers' 80-62 victory over Niagara on Dec. 4 was John Olenowski's 80th as Manhattan's head coach, moving him past Sal Buscaglia into second place on the program's all-time wins list. Kathy Solano is Manhattan's all-time winningest coach with 138 career victories. The victory over Niagara was also Olenowski's 150th in his 10-year collegiate coaching career. His 100th career win, a 59-53 triumph on Jan. 30, 2011, also came against the Purple Eagles.