BUFFALO, N.Y. - In a game that saw eight ties, eight leads changes, and a major comeback on each end, the women's basketball teams from Manhattan College and Canisius needed a pair of overtimes to finally decide things on Monday afternoon. Both teams had chances to win, but it was Canisius that seized the last one, as Ellie Radke sank a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to give the Griffs (6-9, 1-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) a 69-65 victory over the Lady Jaspers (7-8, 2-2 MAAC) at the Koessler Athletic Center.
Manhattan took timeout with 55 seconds left in regulation and the game tied at 47-47. The Lady Jaspers ran the shot clock all the way down, but Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) missed a three-pointer. However, Manhattan got the rebound and a fresh shot clock. After Pacheco's jumper with 10 seconds left was off the mark, Canisius grabbed the rebound and Radke was open for a layup. However, Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) refused to allow the easy game-winner, as she came from behind and fouled her with just over one second left. Radke only needed to make one free throw to essentially win the game for Canisius, but she missed both foul shots and the game went into overtime.
In the first extra session, it looked like the Lady Jaspers would pull away for the victory, as Manhattan scored the first five points of overtime and led 57-50 after Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) drained a trey with 59 seconds left. Canisius got three-pointers from Brittane Russell and Brianna Lucas to pull within one, but Manhattan made it a three-point game when Pacheco sank a pair of free throws with 26 seconds remaining. After a Manhattan timeout, the Griffs' Micayla Drysdale nailed a trey from the top of the key to tie the game at 59-59 with 19 seconds to go in overtime. Pacheco then drove down for the potential game-winning layup, but Radke blocked the shot to extend the game. All four of the Griffs' baskets in the first overtime were three-pointers.
Canisius scored the first five points of the second overtime, but this time it was Manhattan's turn to come back, as Pacheco hit a pair of free throws to cut the Griffs' lead to two, 67-65, with 44 seconds remaining. Knowing Canisius couldn't hold for the last shot, Manhattan played tight defense, forcing the Griffs to take a bad shot as the shot clock expired. Radke grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled, but she again missed both free throws. Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) grabbed the rebound with 11 seconds left, but she had the ball stolen, giving it back to Canisius. Radke was fouled immediately and this time she made both free throws, making it a four-point game with six seconds left. Manhattan couldn't get off a shot and Canisius held on, 69-65.
"That was an unbelievable, up-and-down, close basketball game," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "It was very hard-fought by both teams. We had our opportunities, but, unfortunately we didn't cash in."
Canisius jumped out to an early 6-1 lead to start the game, but Manhattan responded with a 7-0 run, taking an 8-6 lead on a Pacheco jumper barely six minutes into the contest. After a Russell layup tied it at 8-8, the Lady Jaspers scored the next five points to open up a 13-8 advantage. Drysdale responded with back-to-back three-pointers to put Canisius back in front, 14-13, but the Lady Jaspers again countered back, going on a 10-4 run to take a 23-18 lead with 1:21 remaining in the first half. On the next Canisius possession, Drysdale hit her third trey of the half to trim Manhattan's lead to two, 23-21, at intermission.
The Griffs raced out of the gate in the second half, opening the period with a 16-2 rally that gave them a 12-point lead, 37-25, with 13:46 left in regulation. Manhattan trimmed it to eight before consecutive Canisius baskets ran the Griffs' lead back to 12 points, 41-29, at the 9:21 mark. From there, the Manhattan comeback started, as the Lady Jaspers scored 16 of the next 20 points and tied it at 45-45 when Laura Rivera (Elmont, N.Y.) banked in a long three with 2:41 remaining in the second half. Manhattan took the lead on a Wentworth jumper at the 1:23 mark before a Lucas bucket on the other end forced the 47-47 deadlock.
Wentworth notched a team-high 21 points and added seven rebounds. Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) just missed a double-double for the second straight game, finishing with a career-high-tying 19 points and nine boards, while Pacheco had 11 points and tied a career-best with seven rebounds. Rivera played a career-high 41 minutes off the bench and tallied seven points to go along with three assists and a career-high seven rebounds. As a team, Manhattan shot just 29.1 percent (16-of-55) from the field and 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from downtown, but made 26 free throws, shooting 74.3 percent (26-of-35) at the line.
Drysdale led all scorers with 22 points and added seven rebounds for the Griffs. Russell flirted with a triple-double, notching 15 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds before fouling out. She also had four steals. Radke added 12 points, nine boards and three assists for Canisius. The Griffs shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the field, including 54.5 percent (6-of-11) combined in the two overtimes. Canisius shot 32.1 percent (9-of-28) from three-point land and 44.4 percent (8-of-18) at the charity stripe.
The Lady Jaspers conclude their three-game road trip with a 4:30 p.m. showdown at Loyola (8-7, 3-1 MAAC) on Friday afternoon. The contest, which will be nationally televised live on ESPNU, is the first meeting between the schools since Loyola knocked Manhattan out of the 2009 MAAC Tournament.
NOTES: Canisius has won three straight against Manhattan and now leads the all-time series 28-17...Manhattan, which hasn't won at Canisius since the 2000-01 season, was looking to sweep the Buffalo trip for the first time in program history...The Lady Jaspers failed to score 50 points in regulation for just the second time this season...Manhattan was without starting guard Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.), who injured her knee in the Niagara game and is out indefinitely...Halfkenny made her first start of the season in Herrington's place...Manhattan played an overtime game for the first time since Dec. 15, 2007 (a 60-59 loss at Fairleigh Dickinson) and went to double overtime for the first time since Dec. 5, 1987 (a 71-68 win over Yale)...Not a single member of the current roster had been born yet the last time Manhattan played a double overtime contest...It was Kids' Day at the Koessler Athletic Center, which accounted for the unusual 11 a.m. start time and the attendance of 2,196.