ALBANY, N.Y. – The Manhattan Jaspers women's basketball team (1-1), following two free throws from the home team with seven seconds to go, fell in their first leg of the America East-Metro Challenge against the Great Danes of Albany (2-0) by a final score of 62-61 inside Broadview Center on Thursday evening. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Albany scored the first five points, Taylah Murtagh knocked down the first basket of the night for the Jaspers, coming from beyond the arc. 
• Murtagh hit another to trim the lead down to three, while Celeste Harper contributed the next five to keep the same pace. 
• Newcomer Cortney Howell joined the festivities before the quarter came to a close, with Manhattan still trailing by three through the first ten minutes. 
• Team captain Amanda Baumgarte rallied for the first two buckets of the second frame, with the margin staying relatively the same throughout. 
• Murtagh hit her fourth deep shot of the evening in the latter portion of the period, with it being the final points before the halftime break, as the Green and White fell behind by six. 
• Laia Izquierdo Altimira and Harper prioritized the three out of the locker room, as Harper's second cut the deficit to two midway through the third quarter.  
• A layup from Izquierdo Altimira tied the contest at 36-all with 3:39 on the clock in the third. 
• Going down by four when the third frame came to a close, Kennedy Brown cut that number back down to one with a deep shot of her own just 13 seconds into the fourth. 
• Brown and Baumgarte teamed up for a pair of baskets to tie the game again at 48 with seven minutes to play. 
• After going back up by two points, Harper drove into the paint for an insurance layup to put Manhattan up four with 2:36 left. 
• Even with Albany cutting it back down to one, Izquierdo Altimira put the Jaspers back at ease with another three under two minutes. 
• The Great Danes' Madison Roman ignited the Broadview Center crowd by converting a layup with less than 30 seconds to go. 
• Responding to the pressure, Harper found her spot and drove inside to retake the lead at 61-60 with 16 seconds to play. 
• Out of the timeout, Roman was left open in the paint, forcing a Jasper foul. 
• With all the pressure upon her, Roman converted both free throws with seven seconds on the clock.
• The final three-point attempt from Izquierdo Altimira fell short as time expired, giving Albany the win by a hair. 

STATS AND NOTES

• Junior guard Taylah Murtagh led the way for the Green and White with 17 points, knocking down five of her nine chances from three-point range. 
• Sophomore guard Celeste Harper contributed 15 of her own in 28 minutes off the bench, swiping two balls and blocking a shot as well.
• Junior forward Laia Izquierdo Altimira rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11, tallying five rebounds in addition.  
• Manhattan shot at its best rate in the opening quarter, with a 35.7% clip. 

NEXT UP:

Head Coach Heather Vulin and the Jaspers will continue their 2026-27 campaign on Sunday, November 8 for the final leg of the America East-Metro Challenge, welcoming the Bulldogs from Bryant to Riverdale. Tip-off from Draddy Gymnasium is scheduled to get underway at 2:00 p.m., and can be viewed live on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.