By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
February 13, 2018
JENKINTOWN, PA—Manor College (13-11 Overall, 9-10 Region XIX Division II) freshman guard Alize Felton (New Castle, DE/William Penn) scored 18 points as the Blue Jays defeated the Mercer County Community College Vikings (11-16, 6-12), 66-56. The victory also clinched a NJCAA Region XIX Division II Postseason Tournament berth for the ninth time in ten seasons.
The Blue Jays led from the opening tap. Manor scored the first eight points in first 1:52 of the opening quarter. Mercer County freshman forward Tylisha Livingston's jump shot off of a miss and free throw with 5:22 left got the Vikings within 10-6. This was as close as they got for the rest of the game. Manor responded and finished the remainder of the first on a 10-3 run and maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the contest. Felton's jump shot with 1:34 remaining gave the Blue Jays its largest lead in the quarter (20-9) and closed out the scoring in the first.
Manor's run continued into second quarter, scoring five of the first seven points during a 1:37 stretch. Altogether, the Blue Jays went on a 16-5 run in a 6:59 period over two quarters and opened up a 26-11 lead with 8:23 left in the second. Sophomore forward/center Kelicia Brown's (Philadelphia, PA/Lincoln) free throw closed out the run. After Livingston's free throw got the Vikings within 26-14 with 6:35 remaining, the Blue Jays went on another run to finish out the quarter and the first half. Manor went on a 14-5 run and sophomore guard/forward Jaquay Williams' (Philadelphia, PA/Audenreid) free throws gave the team its largest lead of the half (40-19) and finished off the scoring for both teams. The Blue Jays outscored the Vikings in the second quarter, 20-10. Felton and freshman guard Kiara Stoval (Chester, PA/Ursuline Academy [DE]) each led both teams with 11 points in the first half.
The Blue Jays led as much as by 25 (49-24) on Felton's jump shot with 5:49 left in the third quarter. Mercer County answered with a 13-2 over the next 3:04 and closed the deficit to 51-37 on freshman forward Haylee Kieffer's layup with 2:45 remaining. Altogether, the Vikings finished the final 5:49 of the quarter on a 16-7 run. Mercer County outscored Manor in the quarter, 21-16, but, the Blue Jays led 56-40 after three.
Manor led 60-42 with 7:59 left on Brown's hook shot, with an assist by Williams. Mercer County responded with 10-2 run over the next 3:42 and closed the gap to 10 (62-52) with 4:17 remaining on Jess Adamo's jump shot. The Vikings would get within 10 twice more (64-54 and 66-56) for the remainder of game. Mercer County outscored Manor in the fourth quarter, 16-10, and in the second half, 37-26, but Manor won, 66-56. Kieffer led both teams with 10 points in the second half.
Individual Statistical Leaders: Brown registered a "double-double" with 16 points and a team-leading 14 rebounds. Stoval added 15 points. Williams paced the Blue Jays with five assists and Felton led the team with four steals.
Livingston led Mercer County with 20 points. Keiffer contributed 17 points and sophomore forward Shanice Barnes scored 10.
Series Record: Manor leads the season series, 15-5, including nine straight wins. The Blue Jays are 10-0 at home against the Vikings. Manor has swept Mercer County for the fourth straight season and the fifth time in this series.
Next Game: Manor travels to Region XIX Division II Lackawanna College 1:00 p.m. Saturday, February 17, 2018 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Blue Jays are 8-12 versus the Falcons, including 4-6 on the road. Lackawanna has won eight straight overall meetings. The Falcons won the previous meeting at Manor, 82-42, on December 2, 2017. This is the final game on the Region XIX Division II regular season schedule for both teams.