NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Friday's Manhattan-Iona split venue, day-night, men's-women's basketball doubleheader got underway during the afternoon with the women's game at the Hynes Athletic Center. After a tight, defensive first half, the Gaels (10-8, 6-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) started the second half on a 16-6 run en route to a 64-53 victory over the Lady Jaspers (8-10, 3-4 MAAC) before a crowd of 1,090.
Both teams started off slowly offensively. Iona led 4-0 before Manhattan finally got on the board with a Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) three-pointer at the 15:43 mark. The Gaels extended their lead to 7-3 before another Loutsenhizer trey, followed by a steal and coast-to-coast layup by Laura Rivera (Elmont, N.Y.) gave Manhattan its first lead, an 8-7 advantage, eight minutes into the game.
The Lady Jaspers pushed their lead to three, 12-9, on a Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) steal and layup with 10:58 remaining in the first half, but Iona responded with six straight points to go back in front, 15-12. A three-pointer by Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) capped a 5-0 Manhattan run that gave the lead back to the Lady Jaspers, 17-15, with 6:55 left in the period. However, that would be Manhattan's final lead of the game, as Iona responded with a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to build a 25-17 lead. The Lady Jaspers scored the next five points to get back within three on Loutsenhizer's third trey of the half, and Manhattan went into the locker room trailing 29-24.
Iona took control early in the second half, going on a 16-6 run over the first 5:40 of the period to push its lead to 15 points, 45-30. The Lady Jaspers rallied for the next six points to get the deficit back under 10 before another 10-3 spurt by the Gaels gave Iona its largest lead of the game, a 55-39 advantage with 8:15 remaining. After the sides traded baskets, a Wentworth jumper ignited a 10-4 rally that got the Lady Jaspers back within 10, 61-51, with 2:20 left. Wentworth drained a pair of free throws on Manhattan's next possession, but the Lady Jaspers ran out of time, and the Gaels completed a sweep of the season series with a 64-53 victory.
"Our girls played hard and were very good defensively today," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "Overall, I'm pleased with our effort."
Loutsenhizer led the Lady Jaspers in scoring for the third straight game, putting up 14 points. She also grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Pacheco finished with 11 points and three assists to go along with a career-high nine steals, while Rivera contributed 10 points off the bench. Wentworth tallied nine points and three assists, and Kerri White (Flushing, N.Y.) handed out three assists. As a team, the Lady Jaspers shot 40.9 percent (18-of-44) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from beyond the arc, and 66.7 percent (12-of-18) at the line.
Thazina Cook notched a double-double for Iona, finishing with game-highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Milica Paligoric had 13 points and six rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench, while Kristina Ford posted 11 points and seven rebounds to go along with five assists. Suzi Fregosi distributed six assists and added five steals. The Gaels shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field and outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 40-22. Iona shot 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from three-point land and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) at the charity stripe.
On Sunday afternoon, the Lady Jaspers travel to Connecticut to take on Fairfield (9-9, 3-4 MAAC) for the second time in six days. Manhattan posted a 69-53 victory over the Stags at Draddy Gymnasium on Monday. Tip-off at Alumni Hall is set for 1 p.m.
NOTES: Iona posted its third straight win over the Lady Jaspers and swept the season series for the first time since 2006-07...Manhattan leads the all-time series 40-21...Pacheco had the most steals in a game for a Manhattan player since Donnette Reed also had nine at Bucknell on Jan. 2, 2004...Her previous career-high was seven steals at Portland on Dec. 19, 2008...Pacheco was credited with 40 minutes played for the second time in the last three games...The Lady Jaspers were the visiting team at a "Kid's Day" contest for the second time this season...Manhattan was also the visiting team for Kid's Day at Canisius on Jan. 11...The Manhattan and Iona men's teams square off at Draddy Gymnasium on Friday night at 9 p.m. in a contest that will be nationally televised on ESPNU.