RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Last season, the Manhattan College women's basketball team was on the losing end as Fordham snapped its NCAA-record 35-game losing streak. That loss didn't sit well with the Lady Jaspers, and they wanted to make certain it wouldn't happen again on Tuesday night. Mission accomplished. Manhattan (5-6) controlled the game from the start, limiting the Rams (6-5) to just 29.5 percent (18-of-61) shooting en route to a 63-47 victory in the 41st edition of the "Battle of the Bronx" at Draddy Gymnasium.
"That loss (last season) stayed in our heads," Bronx native Michelle Pacheco said. "It was embarrassing to see ourselves on ESPN (for that reason). Tonight we wanted to come out and show that we're the best team in the Bronx."
Taking their senior point guard's lead, the Lady Jaspers set the tone early. Manhattan never trailed in the game and the score was only tied once, at 2-2. After Fordham's Tiffany Stokes sank a layup to make it 8-5 Manhattan at the 16:10 mark of the first half, the Lady Jaspers responded with an 18-3 run over the next 10 minutes and opened up a 26-8 lead on a three-pointer by Kerri White (Flushing, N.Y.) with 5:13 left before halftime.
Fordham rallied for seven of the next nine points to make it a 13-point game, 28-15, with 1:05 remaining in the half. Manhattan, however, scored the final four points of the half to take a 32-15 advantage into the locker room. The Lady Jaspers held the Rams to just 25 percent (6-of-24) shooting, including 12.5 percent (1-of-8) from three-point range, in the first half.
The Lady Jaspers' lead reached a game-high 22 points on a layup by Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) with 14:53 remaining, but the Rams responded with an 11-0 run that included a trio of three-pointers to get back within 11 points, 43-32. The lead hovered around 11 points until the final minutes, when the Rams began fouling to stop the clock. A pair of Pacheco free throws made it 61-44 with 21 seconds left, then, after a Fordham trey, Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) drained a pair to account for the final 63-47 margin.
"I heard about (last year's) game all summer," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "It's huge to win a rivalry game like this. I could see how special it is, and getting a victory really meant a lot to the team."
Pacheco paced Manhattan with 18 points. She also tallied six rebounds and dished out six assists. Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) had 11 points and three steals, while Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) also recorded 11 points. Loutsenhizer posted eight points to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds. Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) collected five rebounds and handed out a career-best three assists. The Lady Jaspers shot 44 percent (22-of-50) from the field, 40 percent (4-of-10) from downtown, and 62.5 percent (15-of-24) at the charity stripe. Manhattan outscored Fordham 32-10 in the paint.
Caitlin Shadbolt was the only Fordham player to reach double figures with 12 points. She added 10 rebounds to complete a double-double, as the Rams outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 46-36. Becky Peters and Randall Hurst each grabbed 10 boards for the Rams, as well. Peters also chipped in eight points. Kyara Weekes handed out a team-high four assists to go along with her seven points, while Stokes tallied eight points and eight rebounds. Fordham shot 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from three-point range and 50 percent (5-of-10) at the free throw line.
The game concluded Manhattan's non-conference slate. The Lady Jaspers now have 11 days off before opening Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play on Sunday, Jan. 3, when Rider (2-8, 0-0 MAAC) comes to Draddy Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. showdown. Last season, Manhattan and Rider split the season series, with the visiting team winning each game.
NOTES: The squads have met every year since 1979-80, and Manhattan now leads the all-time series 23-18...The home team has won each of the last five meetings between the schools...The Lady Jaspers' victory evened up this season's all-sports Manhattan-Fordham series at 3-3...Manhattan College Hall of Famer Marianne Reilly, the Lady Jaspers' first 1,000-point scorer, who is now the Senior Associate Athletic Director at Fordham, was in attendance...The Lady Jaspers finished with five non-conference wins for the second time in three seasons...Loutsenhizer came off the bench for the second time this season, with Lawrence making her second career start...Pacheco averaged 17.0 points and 7.0 assists in six December games...Manhattan posted an 11-17 overall record during the 2009 calendar year.
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