Season slipping away for Manhattan women’s hoops

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The new year has not been kind to the Manhattan College women’s basketball team. 

The Jaspers entered last Sunday’s contest against Niagara on a four-game losing streak—their longest slump of the season—and tied for last place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with Niagara. After starting the season 3-1, the Jaspers have dropped 10 of their last 12 games. 

Against the Purple Eagles, the Jaspers continued on their downward spiral. Despite a career-performance from Mikki Guiton, who scored 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting, the Jaspers dropped the contest, 62-59, to Niagara. After committing 28 turnovers in their last game against Quinnipiac, the Jaspers had another sloppy performance, committing 21 turnovers against the Purple Eagles. For Manhattan head coach Heather Vulin, the turnovers were the deciding factor in the game. 

“I think what really hurt us is that we had 21 turnovers today,” Vulin said. “[Niagara] had 13 more shot attempts than we did and I talked to my team after the game. I’m like, ‘Do you think even if we had just six more shot attempts will we have won this game? And they agreed.” 

Manhattan’s turnovers have increased since its star player, guard Amani Tatum, went down with a right foot injury. Tatum, the reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, has missed the last four games. Before going down, Tatum was leading the MAAC with 4.8 assists per game and was at the head of Manhattan’s offense. 

“She’s too valuable of an asset for me to rush her back,” Vulin said about Tatum. “I’m not letting her back on the court until I feel like she’s 100 percent.” 

Although the Jaspers have struggled offensively since Tatum’s injury, against Niagara, Guiton stepped up and proved she might be a weapon for the rest of the season. Guiton missed just two shots from the floor, knocking down jump shots as well as scoring from the post on a couple of occasions. 

“I really had a lot of confidence for this game,” Guiton said. “It was our alumni game, so I definitely wanted to do good for them and my team and my coaches. We worked really hard this week so I definitely wanted to play good for my team and for the alumni who were here tonight.” 

The Jaspers led 31-25 at halftime, but blew an opportunity to lead by more. The Jaspers held Niagara scoreless for five minutes midway through the first quarter, but failed to take advantage of Niagara’s shooting woes. Turnovers plagued Manhattan in the first half, as the Jaspers committed 11. 

“In the end we kind of made a couple plays that should have been simple and we made it a little more complicated for ourselves,” said Manhattan center Kayla Grimme. “We tried too hard to keep looking for the same thing at some points sometimes. We had some turnovers there that hurt us.” 

The Jaspers led, 37-30, in the third quarter, but Niagara’s leading scorer, Victoria Rampado, who up to that point was having a quiet game with just four points, scored five points during an 8-0 Niagara run. But Manhattan went back to what was working for it all game—giving the ball to Guiton. Guiton scored six consecutive points to end the quarter, and the game was tied at 43. 

Guiton continued to lead the charge in the fourth quarter, scoring a quick four points to start the period. But Niagara hung in the game, answering every blow Manhattan dealt. With two minutes to play, the game was tied at 54-54 and after Guiton missed a layup, Kaylee Stroemple gave Niagara the lead with a layup on the other end. The Jaspers cut the lead to one, and regained the lead with less than a minute to play after Gabby Cajou stole the ball and converted on a fast-break layup. But Manhattan could not hold on to the lead for long. 

Niagara went up by two after a pair of free throws by Stroemple and one sank one, Manhattan had two opportunities to regain the lead. But Nyasha Irizarry and Maeve Parahus each missed 3-point attempts. Niagara missed a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining, giving Manhattan a chance to tie the game. However, a half-court heave by KellyAnne O’Reilly fell short and the Jaspers dropped their fifth straight 62-59. 

“I told the team after the game, I’m more disappointed for [Guiton] than for anything because here she had a monster, career game and she should be able to leave here feeling like a million bucks, instead she’s crushed that she didn’t do enough to help this team win,” Vulin said. 

The Jaspers are now in last place in the MAAC, and with no timetable for Tatum to return, the season looks to be in danger. 

“Our big goal is that when [Tatum] is back that everyone is better so that we can really make a run,” Vulin said.

Manhattan College, Jaspers, women's hoops, basketball, Daniel Ynfante

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