Game 26: Manhattan Jaspers (6-19, 3-11 MAAC) at Canisius Golden Griffins (9-16, 6-8 MAAC)
Friday, February 22, 2013-7 p.m.
Buffalo, N.Y.-Koessler Athletic Center (2,176)
Live Video: JasperVision, MAAC.tv
Live Audio: www.gogriffs.com
ABOUT THE GAME
Manhattan (6-19, 3-11 MAAC) begins its final road trip of the year with tonight's matchup against Canisius (9-16, 6-8 MAAC) at the Koessler Athletic Center. The Jaspers are looking to snap a four-game losing streak and are coming off a 66-47 setback at first-place Marist on Sunday. Canisius has dropped six of its last seven, including two straight. The Griffs fell to Iona by an 84-79 count on Saturday. Manhattan won the first meeting of the season between these two teams, 54-51 at Draddy Gymnasium on Feb. 3.
ABOUT THE JASPERS
The Jaspers (6-19, 3-11 MAAC) enter tonight's contest looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Manhattan has dropped eight of its last nine overall and is coming off a 66-47 loss at first-place Marist on Sunday afternoon. Junior guard Monica Roeder tallied a game-high 15 points against the Red Foxes and is Manhattan's leading scorer, averaging 12.1 points per outing. Roeder also ranks second in the MAAC with 2.0 three-pointers per game. Junior guard Allison Skrec paces the conference in assists, handing out 4.9 per contest. Skrec also leads Manhattan in steals (2.2 spg) and tallies 8.2 points per game. Senior forward Toni-Ann Lawrence is second on the team in both scoring (9.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg), while freshman forward Shayna Ericksen grabs a team-high 6.7 rebounds a night. The Jaspers conclude their 2012-13 road schedule on Sunday, when they take on Niagara for the first time this season.
ABOUT THE GRIFFS
The Griffs (9-16, 6-8 MAAC) have dropped six of their last seven, including their last two, and are currently tied with Siena for sixth place in the MAAC. On Saturday afternoon, Canisius fell at Iona by an 84-79 count. Senior guard Ashley Durham is the Griffs' leading scorer with an average of 12.0 points per game. She also paces the squad in steals (1.1 spg) and has the best free throw percentage in the MAAC (.905). Junior forward Jamie Ruttle contributes 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per outing, while senior forward Ashley Wilkes adds 7.7 points and a team-high 6.2 boards a night. Wilkes also tallies 1.1 blocks per game. Freshman guard Tiahana Mills, the only Canisius player to start every game this season, paces the Griffs with 2.7 assists per contest, and junior guard Jen Morabito drains 1.5 three-pointers per outing. Canisius hosts Fairfield on Sunday afternoon before ending the regular season with two road games.
SERIES HISTORY
The Jaspers have won six straight against the Griffs, their longest winning streak against Canisius in program history. Manhattan posted a 54-51 win when the squads met at Draddy Gymnasium on Feb. 3. The Griffs, however, lead the all-time series 28-23. In last season's meeting at the Koessler Athletic Center, Manhattan came away with a 50-40 victory on Feb. 24, 2012. The Griffs' last win over the Jaspers was a 69-65 triumph in Buffalo on Jan. 11, 2010.
LAST GAME--Marist 66, Manhattan 47
The Jaspers dropped a 66-47 decision to first-place Marist at McCann Arena on Sunday afternoon. Manhattan scored the first six points of the game, but Marist responded with 13 unanswered points to take a 13-6 lead. The Jaspers countered with a 12-6 run to cut its deficit to one, 19-18, with 8:30 left in the first half. After Manhattan again pulled within two at 22-20, the Red Foxes went on an 8-2 run to make it 30-22, and Marist led 30-25 at halftime. The Red Foxes opened the second half on a 14-4 run to increase their lead to 15 points, 44-29. The lead reached a game-high 22 points at 66-44 with 1:40 remaining before a late trey by Monica Roeder. Roeder tallied a game-high 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Ashley Stec contributed nine points and six assists. Toni-Ann Lawrence had eight points and eight boards, and Allison Skrec handed out eight assists.