RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College women's basketball team got its only chance to play at home in a three-week period on Monday afternoon, and the Lady Jaspers relished the opportunity. The Lady Jaspers (8-9, 3-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) started the game on a 7-1 run, then withstood a Fairfield (8-9, 2-4 MAAC) charge in the second half to post a 69-53 victory at Draddy Gymnasium.
The Lady Jaspers were happy to be home, jumping out to a 7-1 advantage on a three-pointer by Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) at the 15:39 mark of the first half. Fairfield rallied for six of the next seven points to pull within one at 8-7, but a jumper by Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) and another Loutsenhizer trey pushed Manhattan's lead back to six points, 13-7, with 12:22 left in the first half.
Manhattan built an eight-point advantage when Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) drained a fast-break layup to make it 21-13 midway through the period, but Fairfield rallied for the next six points to get back within two, 21-19. The Lady Jaspers pushed the lead back to seven before a Desiree Pina trey capped a 5-0 Fairfield run that again made it a two-point game, 28-26, with 3:12 left before halftime. The Lady Jaspers held the Stags scoreless for the rest of the period, however, and took a 32-26 advantage into the locker room.
Fairfield raced out of the gate to start the second half and took its first lead of the game, 38-36, when Stephanie Geehan drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 14:20 left. Manhattan tied it on a Loutsenhizer jumper, then Geehan put the Stags back in front. Moments later, Geehan fouled Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) as she was driving for a layup. Pacheco sank the bucket and the free throw to give the lead back to Manhattan.
Pacheco's three-point play ignited a 7-0 Manhattan run that gave the Lady Jaspers a 45-40 lead with 10:27 remaining in the contest. After the Stags pulled within three, 50-47, on Taryn Johnson's three-point play with 7:41 to go, the Lady Jaspers responded with an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to bring their advantage back to 12 points, 61-49. Fairfield scored the next four points to get back within eight, but the Lady Jaspers held the Stags scoreless over the final 1:45 and went 6-for-6 at the free throw line down the stretch to finish off a 69-53 victory and snap their two-game losing streak.
Loutsenhizer recorded her second straight 20-point effort, tallying a game-high 21 points to go along with five rebounds. Pacheco chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists, and Kerri White (Flushing, N.Y.) posted a season-high 10 points off the bench. White also tied a career-high with three assists. Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) tallied nine points and five boards, while Wentworth notched eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Manhattan shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the field, 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from beyond the arc, and 81.5 percent (22-of-27) at the free throw line.
Geehan, the MAAC's leading rebounder, tallied a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Stags. Brittany MacFarlane added 12 points and six rebounds off the bench, as Fairfield outrebounded Manhattan 41-31. Pina had nine points, five rebounds and three assists, while Johnson handed out three assists to go along with seven points and six boards. As a team, the Stags shot 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the field, 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from downtown and 77.8 percent (7-of-9) at the charity stripe.
The teams will meet again in Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, but first Manhattan heads to New Rochelle for a matchup with Iona (8-8, 4-1 MAAC) on Friday at 12 p.m. The Gaels posted a 79-62 victory over the Lady Jaspers at Draddy Gymnasium on Jan. 5.
NOTES: It was Manhattan's second straight victory over Fairfield...The Stags lead the all-time series 36-33...Manhattan improved to 7-0 this season when allowing fewer than 60 points...Four of the Lady Jaspers' eight wins have been by 16 points...The Lady Jaspers had a positive assist/turnover ratio for the third time this season and improved to 3-0 in those games...Loutsenhizer is averaging 20.0 points over the last four games and leads the Lady Jaspers with 18.0 points per game in MAAC play...White had her second career double-figure scoring game, and her first this season.