By Isaiah Rosario, Sports Editor
Women’s Basketball:
The Lady Jaspers opened up their season on Nov. 6 against Central Connecticut State University. The Jasper defense showed out in this matchup specifically, as the Jaspers allowed less than 10 points in each quarter.
The score was tied at nine in the first quarter, but the Lady Jaspers were able to outscore the Blue Devils by six in the second quarter to go into the half with a six-point lead.
Heading into the third quarter the Blue Devils the Blue Devils did not let up as they were able to keep the lead to single digits but that did not last long as the Lady Jaspers were able to separate themselves in the fourth quarter to win the game by 17 points.
The leaders for the game were Anne Bair with 11 points, Ines Gimenez Monserrat with four assists, and Jade Blagrove with 13 rebounds.
The next matchup for the Lady Jaspers was against a tough George Washington squad.
The Lady Jaspers came out firing in the first quarter dropping 19 points in the first quarter and had a lead as much as 12, but were practically silenced in the second and third quarter as they scored a combined 14 points.
The Lady Jaspers were outscored by 12 in the second half which resulted in the Lady Jasper’s lead in the first half disappearing. The final score of the game was 55-49 in favor of George Washington.
The leading Jaspers was Nitzan Amar who had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Head Coach Heather Vulin spoke to GoJaspers following the tough loss.
“I feel like the foul troubles to our players was a factor in the second half,” Vulin said. “Jade [Blagrove] and Petra [Juric] are a big part of what we do. When they got in foul trouble, that changed the whole dynamic of what we do.”
The Lady Jasper’s next game is against Fordham University on Nov. 16 at 7 P.M.
Women’s Volleyball:
The Lady Jaspers opened the week against Binghamton University. The Lady Jaspers lost a close first set with a score of 23-25.
The Lady Jaspers were able to come out strong as they started the set with a 6-1 run, which led to a score of 11-5. After leading, the Bearcats went on a 6-1 run and tied the game at 24. The Jaspers scored two points quickly to end the set.
Unfortunately for the Lady Jaspers, they would go on to lose the final two sets of the game.
Maike Bertens had 21 kills leading the Jaspers, Julienne McKee had 40 assists and Camila Gomez had 16 digs.
The Jaspers play their final games against Niagara University and Canisius College.
Men’s Soccer:
The men’s soccer season officially ended on Thursday as they lost 1-0 in the semifinals of the MAAC Tournament.
It was a defensive showcase for both the Jaspers and the Iona Gaels as in the 18th minute, Thiago Canga scored off an assist by Tim Timchenko.
Men’s Basketball:
Manhattan men’s basketball is officially back for the 2023-24 season. The men opened up their season against Bryant University.
The Jasper lead got up to nine points in the first half with 5:22 to go. Manhattan never lost the lead from that point in the first half and entered halftime with a two-point lead.
At the four-minute mark, Bryant took a 55-54 lead, but Manhattan remained calm and collected as Shaquil Bender hit a three and Daniel Rouzan scored the last four points for the Jaspers, which included a go-ahead layup with less than a minute to play.
The final score of the game was 61-59 in favor of the Jaspers. Rouzan led the Jaspers with 16 points, Seydou Traore put up a double-double, and Brett Rumpel had 10 points.
The next game was against the number one school in the country, the University of Kansas.
The game was all Jayhawks as Manhattan trailed by 25 points at the half. It was back-to-back scoring to start the second half, but Kansas pulled away and beat the Jaspers by 38 points.
Gallagher spoke to GoJaspers about the loss.
“The biggest thing for us in a game like that is can you win a four-minute segment early,” Gallagher said. “We got shots, and we didn’t knock them down. The storyline in the second half is we scored 42 points in the second half because we ran our offense more crisp, more sharp. Our starters shot 40 percent in the game. Not a great number, but it’s still not awful. Kansas is the number-one team in the nation for a reason. It’s a learning bar for the players and coaches and shows what the highest level of playing college basketball is.”
The leading scorer for the Jaspers was Traore, who shot 6-13 with 16 points. He also had eight rebounds and three steals. Brett Rumpel had 11 points.
The next game for the Jaspers is against Felician University on Nov. 16 at home.
Manhattan Swim and Dive:
The men’s swim and dive team lost at Monmouth University 72-157 and the women lost 79-160.