Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? The Manhattan College women's basketball team certainly picked a good time to play its best game of the season. The Lady Jaspers (10-19, 7-11 MAAC) shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field in the game and withstood a late Fairfield run to defeat the Stags (17-12, 12-6 MAAC), 67-56, on Senior Day at Draddy Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. Before the game, the Lady Jaspers honored seniors Annie McIntyre (Portland, Ore.) and Kelly Regan (Williamsville, N.Y.), who each took the floor at Draddy Gymnasium for the final time.
“This is a good way to go out for our seniors,” Head Coach Myndi Hill said. “I want this to keep rolling. We've played some good basketball in February, so we should have some confidence going into the MAAC Tournament.”
While Manhattan was already locked into the No. 8 seed and a first-round matchup with Loyola in next weekend's MAAC Tournament, Fairfield still had an outside shot at earning the No. 2 seed and a potential automatic berth in the Women's NIT. However, the Lady Jaspers showed the Stags early on that they weren't just “going through the motions” in an otherwise meaningless game for them.
The Lady Jaspers stormed out to a quick 5-0 lead and built a 17-6 advantage midway through the first half. A jumper by Fairfield's Desiree Pina brought the lead under 10 at 23-14 with 7:13 left before halftime, but Manhattan ended the half on a 16-6 run to take a 39-20 advantage into the locker room. Manhattan shot a stellar 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the field, including a staggering 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from beyond the arc, in the first half.
After Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) hit a layup to open the second half, the Stags went on an 18-4 run to pull within seven points, 45-38, and prompt Hill to take a timeout. Regan hit a jumper out of the timeout to bring Manhattan's lead back to nine points before a Stephanie Geehan jumper and a Lauren Groom three-pointer got the Stags within four, 47-43, with 9:52 remaining.
Hill took another timeout, then Regan sank a layup to make it 49-43. After Baendu Lowenthal went 1-for-2 at the line for Fairfield, Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) drained a trey to ignite a 7-2 Manhattan run that brought the lead back to 13 points, 59-46, with 5:18 remaining. Fairfield pulled within eight at 61-53, but would get no closer and the Lady Jaspers finished off the regular season with a 67-56 victory.
“We got some tremendous shooting today,” Hill said. “I liked how well we moved the ball and how well we played as a team. Perhaps the most encouraging thing is how we withstood their run, then put one up ourselves.”
Regan tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, and tied a career-high with four assists in her final home game as a Lady Jasper. Herrington registered 14 points and added three assists, while McIntyre tallied 13 points and four assists. Loutsenhizer just missed a double-double with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds. For the game, Manhattan shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field, including 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range, and 80 percent (8-of-10) at the free throw line. Manhattan dished out 19 assists and committed a season-low eight turnovers.
Geehan registered a double-double for the Stags with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Baendu Lowenthal tallied 16 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Pina recorded 11 points and also had three assists for Fairfield. The Stags shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the field as a team and outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 36-32. Fairfield shot 25 percent (4-of-16) from downtown and 85.7 percent (6-of-7) at the charity stripe.
The Lady Jaspers open the MAAC Tournament against ninth-seeded Loyola at 2 p.m. on Thursday from the Times Union Center in Albany. Manhattan and Loyola split the season series in 2008-09, with the Greyhounds posting a 78-65 victory in Riverdale before the Lady Jaspers returned the favor with a 60-54 triumph in Baltimore. The winner takes on top-seeded Marist, the three-time defending MAAC Tournament champions, at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
NOTES: Manhattan snapped a four-game losing streak against Fairfield and beat the Stags at home for the first time since the 2005-06 season...Fairfield is the most common opponent in program history...The Stags now lead the all-time series 36-32...Manhattan College celebrated the 30th anniversary of the women's basketball program with a special halftime ceremony that featured many great Manhattan players of the past...Also during the halftime ceremony, the locker room was dedicated in memory of Lisa Marie Muccilo, who passed away from breast cancer, and Manhattan made a $4,000 donation to the Young Survival Coalition of Northern New Jersey in her honor.