FAIRFIELD, CT – The Manhattan Jaspers women's basketball team (14-14, 8-11 MAAC) fell to the Sacred Heart Pioneers (8-20, 4-15 MAAC) by a score of 61-50 inside the William H. Pitt Athletic Center on Thursday night.
The loss puts Manhattan in a three-way tie for eighth in the MAAC table, with Iona and Canisius, just five days ahead of the 2025 Hercules Tire MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships in Atlantic City.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After falling behind by three baskets to the Pioneers in the game's first four minutes, senior forward Petra Juric found her fellow senior Ines Gimenez Monserrat for three to get Manhattan on the board.
- The Juric sisters knotted things up at nine with Petra bringing the Jaspers within two, before Kristina logged her first layup of the game.
- Manhattan took its first lead of the game with another Gimenez Monserrat trey seconds into the second stanza.
- Sacred Heart found its rhythm by holding the Jaspers scoreless for nearly six minutes before Leyla Ozturk broke the nine-to-nothing run by the Pioneers.
- Opening the second half, Petra Juric got the Jaspers back on track after Tegan Young missed a jump shot, while Ozturk grabbed the offensive board and found Amar to then find Juric underneath. Manhattan would score the next two baskets to go on a six-to-nothing run before Amelia Wood sank home a booming triple.
- The Pioneers ended the third quarter on a ten-to-nothing run against Manhattan to widen its lead back to double-digits.
- Manhattan cut the Pioneers' lead to as little as 12, but it was not enough for the Jaspers to make a comeback.
STATS AND NOTES
- Senior guard Nitzan Amar recorded a team-high 11 points on four-of-10 shooting. The Israeli product assisted on five baskets logged one steal and grabbed four rebounds in 30 minutes on the floor.
- Graduate forward Leyla Ozturk logged 11 points on four-of-seven shooing. Ozturk grabbed a team-high seven boards, logged two blocks, added one steal, and converted three free throws in as many attempts.
- Senior guard Ines Gimenez Monserrat added 10 points to the scorebook on four-of-13 shooting. The Mallorca, Spain product converted two-of-eight three-pointers, grabbed four rebounds, and registered a team-high three steals in 34 minutes.
- Senior forward Petra Juric swatted away four potential buckets, assisted on five baskets, and grabbed five rebounds in 27 minutes on the floor.
- Manhattan won the rebound battle by three, 34-31. Most notably, the Jaspers won the defensive rebound battle 25-21.
NEXT UP:
Manhattan concludes its 2024-25 regular season with a visit to the Capital Region to face the Saints of Siena College on Saturday, March 8, at 2 p.m. inside the UHY Center. The contest can be viewed on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.