by Nick Faria

DRADDY GYMNASIUM — If there has been one constant for the Manhattan University women’s basketball program over the last few years, it’s that they know what it takes to find success.

The Jaspers entered the 2025-26 season with winning records in four of the last five years. They hoped a home contest against the University of Rhode Island Rams would serve as a good litmus test for the young program.

Instead, they got a reminder of how far they still must go.

The undersized Jaspers were blitzed on opening night in a 56-38 loss to the Rams.

“I think Rhode Island is going to win a lot of games this year,” head coach Heather Vulin told the Press. “I think [the loss] gave us a lot of things we need to work on.”

Both teams got off to slow starts. The Jaspers and Rams missed a combined 15 shots before the game’s first basket.

By the first media timeout, Manhattan trailed just 3-0. But as the first quarter wore on, a barrage of three-point jumpers extended Rhode Island’s lead. The Jaspers shot just 2-for-15 from the field in the opening quarter and trailed 15-6 after one.

Rhode Island stretched its lead to 32-12 at the half, behind nine points from sophomore forward Palmire Mbu. The Rams’ size and length frustrated the young Jaspers on both ends of the court.

“I just feel like they punched us in the face first,” Vulin said. “I said the biggest thing at halftime is I didn’t feel we were playing with enough confidence.”

After the coach’s halftime speech, the Jaspers made key adjustments that helped them climb back into the game. Manhattan shifted its defense into a 2-3 zone, which disrupted the Rams’ offense.

It was a move Vulin said was intended to limit Rhode Island’s size advantage.

“We felt like we were letting them attack us too much off the dribble,” she said. “We thought the zone would slow it down… compacting them a little bit would help us.”

The results were immediate. The Jaspers opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run and held the Rams scoreless for the first four minutes. Manhattan outscored Rhode Island 17-4 in the quarter, cutting the deficit to as low as nine.

But a late run from the Rams proved too much, and the Jaspers left the court with an 18-point loss to open the season.

Now 0-1, Manhattan will return to the court Nov. 7 for a road matchup against the University of Minnesota, a Big Ten program. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Game Notes

• The Jaspers shot just 22.9 percent from the field Monday. Last season, their lowest shooting percentage was 23, recorded on Feb. 22 against Quinnipiac University. The team shot under 20 percent in the first half.

• It took All-MAAC First-Team guard Brianna Davis until the two-minute mark of the second quarter to score her first points, but she surged in the third quarter and finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-for-12 shooting.

• This marks the second consecutive season opener the Jaspers have lost. Last year, they fell to Rutgers University, 84-79.

• Manhattan entered the season with a young roster, including 10 newcomers. Those newcomers struggled off the bench — Rhode Island’s reserves outscored Manhattan’s by a 22-6 margin.

Keywords

Manhattan University,

women’s basketball,

Jaspers,

Rhode Island Rams,

Heather Vulin,

Brianna Davis,

college basketball