Manhattan-St. Francis Brooklyn Game Notes
GAME #10: St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (1-6) at Manhattan Jaspers (4-5)
Friday, December 18, 2015-7 p.m.
Riverdale, NY-Draddy Gymnasium (2,520)
Video: Jasper Sports Network
Live Stats
JASPERS GAME NIGHT
In its final home game of 2015, Manhattan (4-5) welcomes St. Francis Brooklyn (1-6) to Draddy Gymnasium. The Jaspers saw their two-game winning streak snapped with a 58-44 defeat at Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers, meanwhile, have dropped three straight. St. Francis Brooklyn is coming off a 74-35 loss to Army West Point last Wednesday. The Terriers won the Northeast Conference title last season and are the first of back-to-back Manhattan opponents that played in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. This is the only time that the Jaspers will be at home during a seven-game stretch. Manhattan plays its next four on the road and doesn't return to Riverdale until Jan. 12.
MANHATTAN BREAKDOWN
The Jaspers (4-5) take the court for just the second time in 12 days for their final non-conference home game of the season. Manhattan had its two-game winning streak snapped with a 58-44 loss at Holy Cross on Saturday. Sophomore guard Amani Tatum tallies a team-high 11.7 points per game, and she also paces the MAAC with 2.8 steals per contest. Sophomore guard Taylor Williams contributes 9.2 points per outing, while sophomore center Kayla Grimme notches 8.1 points and a squad-best 8.7 rebounds a night. Grimme also leads the league and ranks sixth in the NCAA with 3.3 blocks per game. Senior guard Blake Underhill, meanwhile, hands out a team-leading 2.8 assists per contest. This is Manhattan's only home contest in a seven-game stretch. The Jaspers hit the road for each of their next four, starting with their final non-conference game of the 2015-16 season, a matchup at defending Patriot League champion American on Sunday.
ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN BREAKDOWN
St. Francis Brooklyn (1-7) has had 10 days off since a 74-35 loss to Army West Point on Dec. 8. The Terriers, who picked up their lone win of the season--a 59-55 triumph--at Vermont on Nov. 27, enter tonight's contest looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Senior guard Leah Fechko paces St. Francis Brooklyn in scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg), assists (3.1 apg) and steals (3.3 spg). Freshman guard Dana DiRenzo is the only other Terrier who has started all seven games this season. She ranks second on the team with 4.3 rebounds per contest. Freshman forward Maria Palarino tallies 7.3 points per outing, while junior forward Olivia Levey contributes 6.6 points and 4.0 boards a night. The Terriers won the Northeast Conference title and made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. St. Francis Brooklyn returns home on Tuesday afternoon, when they take on Loyola.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Manhattan is 14-1 all-time against St. Francis Brooklyn and has won 14 straight games in the series, its longest active winning streak against any opponent, since the Terriers took the first-ever meeting between the schools during the 1978-79 season. The Jaspers played the Terriers four years in a row from 2008-09 to 2011-12, but haven't faced St. Francis Brooklyn since a 50-37 victory at Draddy Gymnasium on Dec. 28, 2011.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Kayla Grimme and Kylla Champagne combined for 25 points and 12 rebounds, but the Jaspers came up short at Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 58-44 decision at the Hart Center to snap their two-game winning streak. Manhattan took an early 8-3 lead, but the Crusaders responded with an 11-0 run and held a 14-12 advantage after one quarter. Holy Cross led 30-17 at halftime and extended the margin to 21 points, 51-30, early in the fourth quarter. It was still a 21-point game, 57-36, with 3:14 remaining when the Jaspers went on a game-ending 8-1 rally that made the final score 58-44 in favor of Holy Cross. Grimme finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Champagne had a career-high 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting to go along with five boards and two steals.
FORMER ASSOCIATES
Manhattan Associate Head Coach Sonia Burke and St. Francis Brooklyn Associate Head Coach Dionne Dodson were both assistant coaches under Head Coach Myndi Hill on the Jaspers' staff for three seasons from 2003-04 to 2005-06. Burke and Dodson also worked as assistants on Hill's staff at Saint Francis (PA) for three seasons (1999-2000 to 2001-02), helping the Red Flash to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
According to the most recent NCAA national statistics (released on Dec. 16), Manhattan ranks among the top 50 nationally in six different statistical categories, including four where the Jaspers are in the top 25. Manhattan's 6.0 blocks per game are 13th-most in Division I, while the Jaspers are 20th nationally with 54 total blocks. Manhattan is 22nd in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (17.0) and 23rd in turnovers forced per game (21.56). In addition, the Jaspers are ranked 37th nationally in three-point defense (.261) and 39th overall in steals per game (10.6). Individually, Kayla Grimme is fifth in blocks (30) and sixth in blocks per game (3.33).
