January 24, 2025
‘Learn from the mistakes’: Manhattan hoping to escape hot-and-cold start to conference play
By Ben Yeargin
Davis: 'We have to adapt better'
It was the best of times and the worst of times for Manhattan on Thursday afternoon against Fairfield. The best of times were the first quarter and the end of the first half, but the worst of times came after that.
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Manhattan led Fairfield — which hadn’t lost a MAAC game since the 2023 MAAC Tournament — at the end of the first quarter 19-14. The Jaspers tied with the Stags 7-7 at the first media timeout and propelled their lead thanks to buckets from senior guard Nitzan Amar and graduate guard Ines Gimenez Monserrat.
“We were really locked into our gameplan,” Manhattan head coach Heather Vulin told The Next. “But when you give [Fairfield] open shots … they’re going to make them.”
The Stags made their shots in the beginning of the second quarter, going on an 11-0 run, but the end of the frame allowed the Jaspers to get back into the game. Manhattan went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, which was punctuated by an and-one play from junior guard Brianna Davis.
From there, Manhattan couldn’t keep up. Amar and junior guard Hana Muhl were taken out of the game due to injury and Fairfield went on an 18-0 run in the third quarter to put the game out of reach for the Jaspers. Additionally, Manhattan turned the rock over a season-high 29 times. The Stags won, 69-44.
“We have to learn from the mistakes from today,” Monserrat told The Next. “In the second half, we had a lot of defensive mistakes and we couldn’t get in our flow on offense.”
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The game against Fairfield epitomized Manhattan’s season. The Jaspers have been inconsistent. They started the MAAC campaign 0-3, then went on a four-game winning streak beating MAAC Tournament teams like Mount St. Mary’s and Merrimack.
The Jaspers now sit at 4-4 in conference play, and must level out their inconsistencies if they want to guarantee a spot in the postseason and to potentially go on a long run at the MAAC Tournament.
For Manhattan to do that, it has to rely on its guard play.
The Jaspers offense goes through its guards like Monserrat, Amar, Muhl, Davis and freshman guard Claudia Jimenez. Jimenez receives limited minutes, but the other four play hefty time for the Jaspers.
The quartet of Manhattan guards who receive the most minutes all are three-level scorers. Monserrat, Amar, Muhl and Davis all shoot over 30% from 3-point range and aren’t afraid to go into the mid-range or close to the basket to draw fouls.
Specifically, Davis is unafraid to get to the basket and put her body on the line to draw a foul or score a simple 2. Davis is second on the team in percentage of points scored by free throws with a 22.8% mark. Amar is first at 23.7%.
Her willingness to go inside allows for defenses to close in on her, where she can find one of her fellow guards, graduate forward Leyla Ozturk or sophomore forward Tegan Young on the perimeter for a 3-pointer.
“She’s been sensational. She’s someone I hope will be considered for sixth man of the year,” Vulin said. “So she’s just been really unselfish, willing to come off the bench and be an impact kid for us.”
Additionally, the Jaspers guards are excellent at distribution, specifically Amar and Muhl, who are second and fifth in the MAAC, respectively, averaging 5.5 and 4.0 assists per game.
They try to find Ozturk or senior forward Petra Juric in the post. If not, then Amar and Muhl can find the two bigs from beyond the arc or a guard in mid-range.
If the guards are playing well and keeping the ball, Manhattan puts itself in a great position to win. It just has to level off that inconsistency that’s plagued them in conference play.
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“Teams are going to watch film on us, they see our weaknesses, they’re going to be ready for us,” Davis told The Next. “So we have to adapt better.”
The next two games for the Jaspers include a home matchup on Jan. 25 versus an incredibly hot Mount St. Mary’s team and a trip to New Rochelle, New York on Jan. 30 to face Iona.
Mount St. Mary’s has won four-straight games, including wins over second-place Quinnipiac in overtime and a 35-point win over Siena, who sit tied for third with the Mount, Iona and Marist. Iona has lost three of its last four but got a win over league bottom-dwellers Rider.
If Manhattan wants to steady its ship for the rest of MAAC play, it needs to go through its guards.
“We can’t do what we did at the beginning [of the season],” Monserrat said. “We need to find a way to come back, forget about [a bad game] and have a good game.”
