NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. - After getting off to a slow start, the Manhattan College women's basketball team (7-7, 2-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) used a 20-3 run midway through the first half to take control of the game en route to a 70-54 victory over Niagara (3-11, 0-3 MAAC) at the Gallagher Center on Saturday afternoon. The win was Manhattan's third in its last four games.
The Lady Jaspers missed their first nine shots of the game and trailed 7-4 before Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) hit a layup to give Manhattan its first field goal 5:12 into the game. Moments later, Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) picked up her third foul, relegating the Lady Jaspers' point guard to the bench for the remainder of the half. After Liz Flooks hit a three-pointer to give Niagara a 10-6 lead at the 14:21 mark, the Purple Eagles were held without a field goal for the next five minutes.
With 13:09 left in the half, Laura Rivera (Elmont, N.Y.) went 1-for-2 at the line to ignite a 17-0 Manhattan run over the next three minutes. The Lady Jaspers ended four straight possessions with three-pointers and, following a Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) layup, Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) drained a trey to put Manhattan up 24-10 midway through the period.
Manhattan extended its lead to 17 points when Rivera's free throw made it 36-19 with 2:45 left in the first half, but Niagara scored the final eight points of the period and went into the locker room trailing by only nine, 36-27.
Niagara trimmed its deficit to seven early in the second half before a 6-0 Manhattan run pushed the Lady Jaspers' lead back to 13 points, 46-33, with 14:34 remaining. The Purple Eagles scored the next five points to get back within eight, but they would pull no closer. After the Lady Jaspers used an 8-2 run to turn a 50-42 lead into a 58-44 advantage, the Niagara bench was issued a technical foul while disputing a foul call. Manhattan made all four three throws to push its lead to a game-high 18 points, 62-44, with 5:35 left to play.
The Purple Eagles scored six of the next eight points to get back within 12, 66-54, with 1:39 remaining, but would pull no closer. Manhattan got layups from Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) and Pacheco to finish off a 70-54 victory.
"Our team did a good job today, both offensively and defensively," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "We played very good pressure defense in the first half and continued with that in the second half. It was a good all-around team effort, and we had balanced scoring as well."
Loutsenhizer returned to the starting lineup for the first time in four games and led the Lady Jaspers with 18 points and nine rebounds. She also handed out three assists. After going a combined 2-for-16 from downtown over the last two games, Herrington regained her three-point stroke, sinking four treys as part of a 16-point effort. Peters added 10 points, while Wentworth and Pacheco each had eight. Wentworth added eight rebounds and Pacheco tied a career-high with seven boards, as the Lady Jaspers outrebounded the Purple Eagles 41-29. As a team, the Lady Jaspers shot 42 percent (21-of-50) from the field and 50 percent (5-of-10) from downtown. Manhattan shot 88.5 percent (23-of-26) from the free throw line, including a perfect 10-for-10 effort by Loutsenhizer.
Flooks was the only Niagara player to score in double figures, notching 15 points. She also grabbed 12 rebounds to complete a double-double. Jaclyn Konieczka added eight points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Purple Eagles. Kayla Stroman tallied a game-high seven assists and added three steals. Niagara shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the field, 15 percent (3-of-20) from beyond the arc, and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan continues its Western New York road trip with an 11 a.m. trip to Canisius (5-9, 0-3 MAAC) on Monday. The Griffs have dropped seven straight, including a 60-48 loss to Iona on Saturday. Canisius swept Manhattan last season and has won four out of the last five games between the teams. The Lady Jaspers haven't beaten the Griffs in Buffalo since the 2000-01 season.
NOTES: The win was Manhattan's third straight over Niagara and gave the Lady Jaspers a 21-20 lead in the all-time series...It was Olenowski's first road MAAC win as Manhattan's head coach...Seven different players had at least one assist for the Lady Jaspers...The five treys in a span of 2:35 in the first half were Manhattan's only three-point field goals of the game...Manhattan outrebounded its opponent for just the second time this season, and the first time since the Maryland Eastern Shore game on Nov. 22...Loutsenhizer fouled out for the first time in 43 career games...She was also the first Manhattan player to drain 10 free throws in a game since Wentworth made 12 in last season's victory at Niagara (Jan. 16, 2009)...Pacheco also had seven rebounds against Loyola on Dec. 5, 2008...Herrington moved into a tie with Tonya Obey for fourth place on Manhattan's all-time list with 110 career three-pointers.