Manhattan-Quinnipiac Game Notes
GAME #27: QUINNIPIAC BOBCATS (25-3, 17-0 MAAC) AT MANHATTAN JASPERS (3-23, 2-15 MAAC)
Tuesday, February 24, 2015-7 p.m.
Riverdale, N.Y.-Draddy Gymnasium (2,520)
Video: JasperVision
Audio: www.gojaspers.com, www.quinnipiacbobcats.com
GAME INFORMATION
Manhattan (3-23, 2-15 MAAC) welcomes MAAC regular season champion Quinnipiac (25-3, 17-0 MAAC) to Draddy Gymnasium for the make-up of a contest that was originally scheduled for Jan. 26, but postponed due to a winter storm. The Jaspers snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 69-66 victory at Saint Peter's on Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats, meanwhile, have won 15 straight, including a 79-72 victory at Iona on Sunday, and are undefeated in MAAC play. When the squads met in Connecticut on Jan. 18, Quinnipiac posted an 85-51 triumph.
THE JASPERS
The Jaspers (3-23, 2-15 MAAC) picked up their second MAAC win of the season on Saturday afternoon, snapping a 12-game losing streak with a 69-66 victory at Saint Peter's. Junior forward Shayna Ericksen had her eighth double-double of the season against the Peacocks, notching 23 points and 11 rebounds. She leads Manhattan in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 9.8 points and 6.6 boards per outing. Freshman guard Nyasha Irizarry notches 7.4 points per game, while freshman guard Taylor Williams tallies 7.1 points per contest. Freshman center Kayla Grimme, meanwhile, posts 6.5 points and 6.2 rebounds a night to go along with a team-high 1.4 blocks per outing. Junior guard Blake Underhill, who had a career-high 11 assists against Saint Peter's, distributes 2.9 assists per contest to lead the team. Manhattan plays its final road game of the season at Monmouth on Thursday in a matchup that will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
THE BOBCATS
Quinnipiac (25-3, 17-0 MAAC) has clinched the MAAC regular season title and is currently riding a 15-game winning streak. In their last outing, the Bobcats posted a 79-72 victory at Iona on Sunday. Senior forward Samanatha Guastella paces the Bobcats with 13.0 points per game, and she leads the MAAC with 2.8 three-pointers per contest. Guastella also averages 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per outing. Senior center Val Driscoll, meanwhile, is second in the league in blocks (2.0 per game) and third in rebounding (7.7 per game), while also tallying 12.4 points a night. Senior guard Jasmine Martin contributes 11.1 points per contest, while senior forward Nikoline Ostergaard registers 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per outing. Senior guard Gillian Abshire is second in the MAAC in assists, dishing out 5.9 per contest. The Bobcats visit Rider on Thursday before ending the regular season at Monmouth on Sunday.
MANHATTAN VS. QUINNIPIAC ALL-TIME
Manhattan is winless against Quinnipiac in five all-time meetings. The Bobcats are the only opponents on the 2014-15 schedule that the Jaspers have never beaten. Quinnipiac has won all three games between the teams since becoming a member of the MAAC, including an 85-51 triumph at the TD Bank Sports Center on Jan. 18. Last year, the Jaspers hosted the Bobcats in the regular season finale and dropped an 86-78 decision on March 1, 2014.
LAST GAME
The Jaspers snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 69-66 victory at Saint Peter's on Saturday. Manhattan trailed 39-28 at halftime, but started the second half on a 10-2 run to pull within three. The Jaspers tied the game at 55-55 on a pair of Shayna Ericksen free throws with 5:06 left, then went up 57-55 on a Blake Underhill layup. After the Peacocks hit a three-pointer to regain the lead, Nyasha Irizarry and Taylor Williams drained back-to-back treys to make it 63-58, and Manhattan held on for a 69-66 triumph. Ericksen notched her eighth double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Williams and Kayla Grimme added 12 points apiece. Blake Underhill handed out a career-high 11 assists, as Manhattan tallied 20 assists compared to just six turnovers, which matched a program-record.
