MAAC Women’s Basketball Begins Conference Play

12/17/2019 10:00:00 AM

EDISON, N.J. (Dec. 17, 2019) – A mid-December matchup between Manhattan College (3-5) and Monmouth University (2-5) officially kicks off conference play for the 2019-20 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) women’s basketball season. The Jaspers and Hawks meet tonight (Dec. 17) in West Long Branch, New Jersey at the OceanFirst Bank Center for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.

Manhattan and Monmouth finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 2019-20 Coaches’ Preseason Poll, separated by a mere nine points. The two teams met only once last season, with the Hawks edging the Jaspers 71-63 in West Long Branch. Monmouth has started the season with two wins, one over Purdue Fort Wayne on Nov. 30 and another in the team’s most recent game on Dec. 7 against Lafayette. The Jaspers thus far have collected wins against Fairleigh Dickinson and Dartmouth, with the teams’ most recent win coming last Friday night against Army. The two teams currently boast the league’s best defenses, with Manhattan holding opponents to 60.5 points per game and Monmouth holding foes to 60.6 per game.

Conference play for the other nine MAAC teams begins the first week of January, featuring all 11 teams in action. The regular season concludes with the 2020 MAAC Basketball Championships at Atlantic City’s historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, March 10-14.

Marist College (6-2) was chosen as the top team this season by the league’s 11 head coaches. The Red Foxes began the 2019-20 campaign with five-straight wins, including two against North Florida and Lipscomb at the MAAC/ASUN Challenge at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Marist begins conference play on Jan. 2 at 7:00 p.m. at home against Monmouth, who the Red Foxes defeated twice last season.

Quinnipiac University (1-5) was chosen second in the year’s poll after winning four of the last five MAAC Championships. The Bobcats currently own a 52-game unbeaten streak against MAAC opponents, with the last loss coming on Feb. 2 of 2017 at the hands of Fairfield University. The Bobcats will put their unbeaten streak to the test for the first time this season on Jan. 2 when they host Iona College (1-7) at 6:00 p.m. in Hamden.

Rider University (5-2) was chosen third in this year’s poll, led by the Preseason Player of the Year Stella Johnson. Johnson has been off to a hot start, collecting five MAAC Pepsi Zero Player of the Week awards and being named the Most Valuable Player of the MAAC/ASUN Challenge, where the senior averaged 40 points over two games. Johnson currently leads all Division I players with 29.4 points per game and sits third in total free throws made with 70. Conference play for the Broncs begins Jan. 2 at 7:00 p.m. when they host Niagara University (1-7).

Non-Conference Notables:

Saint Peter’s University (3-4), picked to finish last in the preseason coaches’ poll, currently boasts the league’s highest scoring offense with 79.6 points per game. The Peacocks are taking advantage when sent to the line, with the team also leading the league in free throw percentage at .792.
Marist’s Grace Vander Weide leads the conference in four categories: field goal percentage (.540), assists (5.0 APG), three-point field goal percentage (.483), and free throw percentage (.592).
Rider’s Johnson leads the league in scoring with 29.4 points per game, followed by Marist’s Rebekah Hand (18.4), Canisius College’s D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks (17.8), Siena College’s Sabrina Piper (17.3), Saint Peter’s Gabrielle Harris (15.2).
Quinnipiac’s Paige Warfel is the only player in the conference to average double-digit rebounds, collecting 11.2 per contest.
MAAC teams have found wins this year against teams from 14 different Division I conferences, including the Big Ten and Big East.
Siena’s non-conference slate was highlighted by a win over crosstown rival UAlbany in front of a sellout crowd at the Alumni Recreation Center (ARC) on Siena’s campus, the seventh largest crowd for a women’s basketball game in the building’s history.
Fairfield currently rides a two-game win streak with wins over Navy and Hofstra. The Stags will travel to St. John’s (Dec. 20) and host Brown (Dec. 22) to round out their non-conference schedule.
Iona’s Morgan Rachu leads the Gaels squad in scoring (14.5 PPG), rebounds (7.5 RPG), minutes played (34.1 per game), and three-point percentage (.429)
Niagara’s Jai Moore is the only player to be named MAAC Player of the Week besides Rider’s Johnson, following a week in which the senior averaged 17.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.

For the full 2019-20 schedule, click here. See below for the full slate of conference-openers:

Tuesday, Dec. 17

Manhattan at Monmouth – 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 2

Iona at Quinnipiac – 6:00 p.m.
Canisius at Manhattan – 7:00 p.m.
Monmouth at Marist – 7:00 p.m.
Niagara at Rider – 7:00 p.m.
Fairfield at Siena – 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, Jan 4.

Rider at Iona – 1:00 p.m.
Niagara at Manhattan – 2:00 p.m.
Canisius at Monmouth – 2:00 p.m.
Quinnipiac at Siena – 2:00 p.m.
Saint Peter’s at Marist – 7:00 p.m.

About the 2020 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 10-14, 2020 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit http://maacsports.com/basketball and follow @MAACHoops on Twitter.

About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39^th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.