Late Surge Pushes Manhattan Past Women's Basketball

Box Score Ines Gimenez Monserrat's basket 1:10 to play in the fourth quarter put Manhattan ahead for good as it defeated Canisius, 54-51, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's basketball action Thursday at Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, N.Y.

With the win, the Jaspers improved to 17-8 and 10-6 in conference action while the Golden Griffins record dropped to 14-11 overall and 9-7 in MAAC play.

Gimenez Monserrat led Manhattan with 14 points with her teammates, Jade Blagrove and Leyla Ozturk, finished with 13 and 11, points each. Blagrove also led the Jaspers effort on the glass with eight rebounds while Gimenz Monserrat dished out a team-high six assists.

Sophomore Brooklyn Thrash paced the Griffs with her first double-double of the campaign with 12 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. Junior Athina Lexa and sophomore Sisi Eleko also finished in double-figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Senior Mackenzie Amalia dished out six assists as she finished with five-or-more assists for the third consecutive contest

Trailing 49-48 with less than two minutes left in regulation, graduate Tihanna Fulton would drive to the basket, getting fouled on the way up and head to the charity stripe. On her trip, she would go 1-for-2, tying the game at 49-49 with 1:41 left.

Tied at 49-49 with less than two minutes to play in regualatino, Gimenez Monserrat found a lane to the hoop and scored to put the Jaspers ahead, 51-49, with 1:10 left.

After an empty possession by Canisius, Ozturk split a pair of free throws to extend the Manhattan advantage to 52-49 with 16 seconds on the clock.

The Griffs got within one, 52-51, on a jumper by Lexa with 13 remaining. Follow a Manhattan timeout, Canisius fould Ozturk, who proceeded to miss both free throwws, giving the Griffs the ball back down one with 10 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, an errant pass by Canisius landed in the hands of Jaspers defender Anne Bair, who was then fouled. Bair converted both free-throw attempts to put Manhattan up three, 54-51, with five seconds left.

Canisius' last-ditch effort to tie the game on a 3-pointer from Lexa found not find the mark, allowing the Jaspers to record the three-point victory.

Earlier in the contest, the Griffs scored the final seven points of the first half, highlighted by five points from Lexa, to enter the locker room ahead, 27-19.

The Jaspers opened the third stanza on a 12-4 run to tie the game, 31-31 with just under three minutes to play in the frame. The two sides exchanged baskets to close the quarter tied, 35-35.

In the fourth quarter, Manhattan held a 37-35 edge before back-to-back 3-point field goals from Thrash and Lexa put the Griffs up, 41-37, with 7:40 left on the clock.

Midway through the fourth quarter, a lay up by Bair knotted the the contest at 43-43, setting the stage for the final stretch that saw neither team lead by more than three points.

POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH SAHAR NUSSEIBEH:

Hear from @Coach_Sahar after the #Griffs game at Manhattan. #MAACHoops pic.twitter.com/FI2poOpUka
— Canisius Women's Basketball (@GriffsWBB) February 23, 2024

GAME NOTES
• Today served as the 72nd all-time meeting between the two longtime MAAC foes. Manhattan now leads the all-time series, 37-35.
• The Griffs limited Manhattan to just seven second-quarter points, marking the third straight game the Blue and Gold held an opponent to 10-or-less points in a quarter.
• Both games between the Griffs and Jaspers this season were decided by three points. Three of the last four meetings between Canisius and Manhattan have also been decided by five points or less.
• With her six rebounds today, Eleko now needs 23 more rebounds to pass Shauna Geronzin for first all-time for rebounds by a sophomore with 285. She also needs 10 to move past Caren Jachimiak for 10th all-time for rebounds in a single season with 272.
• The Griffs are now 7-6 this season when wearing their blue uniforms. Before today, they last wore the uniforms at Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 10).
• Both teams had limited trips to the charity stripe as Canisius went 6-for-7 (.857) and Manhattan shot 6-of-10 (.600).

UP NEXT
Canisius returns to action Saturday at Quinnipiac. Tip-off from Hamden, Conn., is scheduled for 2 p.m., with the game airing on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Sisi Eleko: F; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#5 Athina Lexa: G; 5' 9"; Junior

#3 Brooklyn Thrash: G/F; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#2 Mackenzie Amalia: G; 5' 5"; Senior

#45 Tihanna Fulton: F; 6' 0"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#14 Sisi Eleko
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: F

#5 Athina Lexa
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G

#3 Brooklyn Thrash
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: G/F

#2 Mackenzie Amalia
: 5' 5"; Senior
: G

#45 Tihanna Fulton
: 6' 0"; Graduate Student
: F