Nitzan Amar drives to the rim as Manhattan take down Siena
VINCENT DUSOVIC/COURTESY
By Andrew Mannion, Asst. Sports Editor
Following winter break, Manhattan College students can return to school and witness the recent accomplishments of the women’s basketball team. The team went 5-2 over the break, including three wins against conference opponents.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Lady Jaspers have shown nothing but improvement over this stretch. They have been shooting 39% from the field and putting up 58.6 points a night. This number is up from the 54 points a game the team was averaging from before the break.
Amar Nitzan has been leading the team in scoring and has averaged 10.4 points in the season.
The defensive strategy is giving an average of 52 points a night. The team has been dominant near the rim, as they have out-blocked every team over break besides LIU.
Their defensive dominance has given them arguably the best unit in the MAAC, as they lead the conference in points allowed per game, opponent rebounding and blocks.
As of Jan. 20, Manhattan is currently seventh in the nation in opponent points per game, following behind major schools such as the University of South Carolina, Texas A&M and Kansas State University.
One of their more dominant wins over the break came right after students headed home, as they took on Rider at Draddy Gymnasium. This marked the opening game of the MAAC competition for the Lady Jaspers, and they did not waste the opportunity to make a statement. The Lady Jaspers took a win over the Broncs by a whopping 34 points, winning the game 73-39.
Petra Juric led the way for the Jaspers, as she had herself a career game. She put up 23 points on just 13 shots while grabbing 12 rebounds and two steals. That marked her second straight double-double.
Defensively the Jaspers held the Broncs to shooting 24% from the field, which led to them underscoring their season average by 14 points.
Heather Vulin, women’s basketball head coach, was quite impressed with her team’s performance after the win.
“I’m very excited,” Vulin said. “I thought we played well today. I thought we were locked in as a group and our goal was to make a statement today with our defense and offense. I feel like we were very dominant on both sides of the ball and excited to start MAAC play. It’s going to be an incredible season.”
Vulin was right when she mentioned how the Lady Jaspers would go on to have an incredible season. Manhattan currently sits third in the MAAC, trailing second-place Cansius by just half a game in the standings.
The Lady Jaspers play only MAAC competition in their 15 remaining games, so the action is just getting started.
The Lady Jaspers’ next game will come against the Marist Red Foxes on Jan. 25 at 7pm. (5-11, 3-3 in the MAAC as of Jan. 20). The Red Foxes will be coming off a game against the Fairfield Stags. The game will be held in Draddy Gymnasium, and the team hopes everyone will come out and show their support.