EMMITSBURG, Md. (February 25, 2023) – Mount St. Mary's women's basketball fell by seven to the Manhattan Jaspers in the 2022-23 home finale, 52-45. The team now stands at 10-17 (6-12 MAAC) for the year with two games still to be played.
 
On Senior Day, Aryna Taylor put together a gutsy performance, shooting 7-for-12 and 5-for-8 from downtown for 19 points. The Virginian tied for a team high six rebounds and added two steals. Fellow Senior Day honoree Natalie Villaflor contributed 13 points with five boards and two blocks.
 
For the 2022-23 home season, the Mount finished with eight wins and six losses.
 
Dee Dee Davis led Manhattan with a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs. Brazil Harvey-Carr added 12 more. The Jaspers are now 12-16 (8-11 MAAC) this year.  
 
Each side shot 3-for-14 from the floor in the first quarter. Villaflor was the Mount's leader with six of the team's eight points. The frame featured three lead changes, the last one coming on a Davis lineup that put the Jaspers on top, 9-8, after 10 minutes of play.
 
A Mountaineers drought that lasted the final 4:09 of the first carried over into the second. This allowed Manhattan to compile a 13-0 run before Taylor supplied a three pointer. That sparked a 14-3 outburst, with Taylor adding another two from downtown. With the lead flipped to 22-21, Manhattan called timeout. The stoppage proved effective as the Mount was held scoreless until halftime. Defense did perform well but the Jaspers tabulated four points before the break to regain the lead, 25-22.
 
Second chance points helped Manhattan extend their advantage to 31-24 at the 5:06 mark of the third quarter, forcing a timeout. By this junction, the visitors had 14 offensive boards.
 
Mount made a couple of runs to close the gap. Isabella Hunt got an and-one to pull the game back within four, followed by a Taylor three to cut it to one. After Manhattan jumped back up by five, a 7-0 run capped by a Carissa Dunham strike from the wing that gave the Mountaineers a 39-38 lead.
 
It would be the last lead the home team would have, as Davis retorted with a jumper in the paint to switch the advantage back. Thanks in large part to the Mount committing fouls in an effort to extend the game, Manhattan scored 14 of the final 20 points in the contest. One more Taylor three with 22 seconds remaining gave a glimmer of hope as the game wound to a close, but shots at the line by the Jaspers proved too much to overcome.
 
The Mount travels to Canisius (March 2) and Niagara (March 4) next weekend to close out the regular season.