Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. ? The Manhattan College women's basketball team knew coming in that Friday night's game at first-place Marist would be tough. The three-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Red Foxes (19-2, 10-1 MAAC) were just as good as advertised, posting a 70-44 victory over the Lady Jaspers (6-15, 3-7 MAAC) at the McCann Center.
Manhattan missed its first five shots and 11 of its first 12, allowing the Red Foxes to jump out to a 22-2 lead. Kelly Regan (Williamsville, N.Y.) hit a layup to snap Manhattan's scoring drought and ignite an 11-2 run that pulled the Lady Jaspers within 11 points at 24-13 with 4:33 left in the half. Marist held a 33-17 advantage at intermission.
The Lady Jaspers came out hot to start the second half, cutting the Red Foxes' lead to 11 points when Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) drained a trey to make it 35-24 at the 18:00 mark. After a Loutsenhizer layup made it 39-26 with 16:20 remaining, Marist went on a 12-2 run to bring the lead back to 23 points, 51-28, with 11:54 to go.
The Lady Jaspers got back within 16 when Abby Wentworth's (Portland, Maine) three-pointer made it 52-36 at the 9:59 mark, but the Red Foxes countered with 18 of the next 20 points to run their lead to a game-high 32 points, 70-38, with 3:28 remaining. Annie McIntyre (Portland, Ore.) nailed a couple of late treys off the bench to finish off the scoring for the Lady Jaspers.
Loutsenhizer paced Manhattan with nine points and recorded the first two blocks of her career. Nicole Harrison (Falls Church, Va.) chipped in seven points to go along with four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 23 minutes off the bench. Wentworth also tallied seven points, while Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) dished out three assists. Regan pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. As a team, Manhattan shot a season-low 26.6 percent (17-of-64) from the field, including 35 percent (7-of-20) from three-point range, and 75 percent (3-of-4) at the free throw line.
Julianne Viani tallied a game-high 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including 5-for-5 accuracy from behind the three-point arc. She added five assists and four rebounds. Brandy Gang chipped in with nine points for Marist, while Corielle Yarde added eight points. Rachele Fitz, the MAAC's leading scorer with an average of 20.9 points per game, played just 15 minutes because of early foul trouble and was limited to six points, which was enough to make her Marist's all-time leading scorer. Maria Laterza grabbed seven rebounds for the Red Foxes, who outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 47-40. Marist shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the field, 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from downtown, and 66.7 percent (10-of-15) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan concludes its three-game road trip on Sunday afternoon with a visit to Siena (7-12, 6-4 MAAC) at 1 p.m. The Saints posted a 64-55 victory over the Lady Jaspers when the teams met at Draddy Gymnasium on Jan. 23.
NOTES: This was the 36th all-time meeting between the schools...Manhattan leads the all-time series 21-15, but Marist has now won the last 12 meetings...Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) returned to the lineup after missing the last eight games with a stress fracture and pulled down two rebounds in nine minutes of action...Regan played in her 100th career game on Friday night...Manhattan failed to have a double-digit scorer for the first time this season...The 44 points was a season low and marked the fourth consecutive game in which the Lady Jaspers didn't break 60, all losses...The Lady Jaspers appeared on TV for the first time this season, as the contest was televised by Time Warner Cable...This was Marist's “Pink Zone” game for breast cancer awareness...Manhattan's “Pink Zone” game will be the rematch between the squads on Feb. 19.