Manhattan-Saint Peter's Game Notes
GAME #26: MANHATTAN JASPERS (2-23, 1-15 MAAC) AT SAINT PETER'S PEACOCKS (3-23, 3-14 MAAC)
Saturday, February 21, 2015-2 p.m.
Jersey City, N.J.-Yanitelli Center (3,000)
Video: MAAC.tv, Peacocks Network
Audio: www.saintpeterspeacocks.com
GAME INFORMATION
The Jaspers (2-23, 1-15 MAAC) play their penultimate road game of the season this afternoon at the Yanitelli Center against Saint Peter's (3-23, 3-14 MAAC). Manhattan has lost 12 straight, including a 66-51 defeat against Siena at Draddy Gymnasium on Thursday night. Saint Peter's, meanwhile, enters the contest looking to snap a four-game skid. The Peacocks are coming off an 82-52 loss at Quinnipiac on Thursday. Saint Peter's hasn't won since notching a 68-58 victory over the Jaspers when the squads met in Riverdale on Feb. 7.
THE JASPERS
Manhattan (2-23, 1-15 MAAC) continues its season-ending stretch of five games in 10 days looking for its first victory since Jan. 4. The Jaspers are in the midst of a 12-game losing streak and are coming off a 66-51 defeat against Siena on Thursday night. Junior forward Shayna Ericksen is Manhattan's leading scorer and rebounder. She averages 9.3 points and 6.4 boards per game. Freshman guard Nyasha Irizarry notches 7.5 points per outing, while freshman guard Taylor Williams adds 6.9 points a night. Freshman center Kayla Grimme, meanwhile, contributes 6.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. She also ranks sixth in the MAAC with 1.6 blocks per game. Junior guard Blake Underhill leads the Jaspers in assists, averaging 2.5 per outing. Manhattan returns home on Tuesday night for a matchup with MAAC regular season champion Quinnipiac. That contest was originally slated for Jan. 26, but was postponed due to inclement weather.
THE PEACOCKS
Saint Peter's (3-23, 3-14 MAAC) has dropped four straight since its victory over the Jaspers on Feb. 7, including an 82-52 loss at Quinnipiac on Thursday afternoon. Freshman forward Sajanna Bethea paces the Peacocks with 9.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She also records a team-best 1.1 steals per contest. Senior guard Antonia Smith and freshman guard Alyssa Velles contribute 8.3 points per outing apiece, while Smith also leads Saint Peter's with 2.5 assists a night and Velles drains a team-high 1.6 three-pointers per game. Junior forward Hala Mostafa, meanwhile, contributes 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest to go along with 1.0 blocks per outing. Junior guard Rebecca Sparks hands out 2.0 assists a night for Saint Peter's, which is the second-lowest scoring team in the nation at 48.8 points per game. The Peacocks have two games remaining on their regular season schedule, a home matchup with Marist on Thursday and a visit to Siena next Sunday.
MANHATTAN VS. SAINT PETER'S ALL-TIME
This is the 78th all-time meeting between the Jaspers and Peacocks, who've met at least once a season since Manhattan became a varsity program in 1978-79. Saint Peter's leads the series 52-25, but Manhattan has won eight of the last 10 matchups. The Peacocks snapped the Jaspers' two-game winning streak in the series with a 68-58 victory at Draddy Gymnasium on Feb. 7. Last season at the Yanitelli Center, Manhattan came away with a 50-41 triumph on Feb. 26, 2014.
LAST GAME
Manhattan suffered a 66-51 loss to Siena at Draddy Gymnasium on Thursday night. The Jaspers took an early 6-1 lead and held a 19-14 advantage midway through the first half. Siena broke a 27-27 tie with 1:25 left before halftime, and the Saints led 29-28 at intermission. Siena then started the second half on a 7-0 rally to open up a 36-28 cushion. The Jaspers pulled within five at 51-46 on a Nyasha Irizarry three-pointer at the 6:47 mark, but wouldn't get any closer. A 15-2 Siena run pushed the Saints' advantage to a game-high 18 points at 66-48 before a Taylor Williams trey capped the scoring. The 66-51 defeat was Manhattan's 12th straight loss. Ashley Stec just missed her second career double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds. Irizarry sank four treys for 12 points, while Shayna Ericksen added 11 points.
