FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Manhattan College women's basketball team took on Fairfield for the second time in six days on Sunday afternoon, and the result was strikingly similar to the one on Monday. The Lady Jaspers (9-10, 4-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) shot 85.7 percent (6-of-7) from three-point range in the first half, then withstood a Fairfield charge early in the second half to post a 64-57 victory over the Stags (9-10, 3-5 MAAC) at Alumni Hall.
After Fairfield built a 10-6 lead on a trey by Katelyn Linney, a Kerri White (Flushing, N.Y.) three on the other end ignited a 7-0 Manhattan run that gave the Lady Jaspers a 13-10 advantage with 11:36 left in the first half. Fairfield got a Stephanie Geehan layup to again make it a one-point game, 13-12, before Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) drained a three-pointer on the Lady Jaspers' next possession. That trey started a 23-7 run over the next 8:15, and another Wentworth triple at the 2:22 mark gave the Lady Jaspers their largest lead of the game, 36-19. Fairfield rallied for the final five points of the half to go into the locker room trailing 36-24.
The Stags carried the momentum from their late first-half run into the second half. After a White three-pointer with 17:55 remaining, the Lady Jaspers were held without a field goal for nearly eight minutes. Fairfield took advantage of the Manhattan drought to pull within two, 44-42, with 10:40 left. However, the Lady Jaspers got back-to-back layups from Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) on their next two possessions to bring the lead back to six points, 48-42.
A Geehan three-pointer again made it a one-possession game before a pair of Wentworth free throws and a Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) layup brought the lead back to seven, 52-45, with 5:23 to go. Manhattan pushed its advantage back to 10 points at 56-46 before a 6-0 Fairfield run cut the lead to four, 56-52, with 1:50 left. On the ensuing Manhattan possession, Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) hit a layup as the shot clock expired to again make it a six-point game. With the Stags forced to foul to stop the clock down the stretch, Manhattan went 17-for-19 (89.5 percent) at the line in the second half to wrap up a 64-57 win.
White made her first start of the season and tied her career-high with 15 points. White also matched a career-high with three steals. Wentworth also tallied 15 points, while Loutsenhizer notched 14 points and five rebounds. Pacheco finished with 10 points and four assists, and Peters grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with six points. Manhattan shot 38 percent (19-of-50) from the field, 50 percent (7-of-14) from downtown, and 90.5 percent (19-of-21) at the line.
Geehan tallied 19 points, 19 rebounds, five blocks and three assists for the Stags. Linney added 10 points and four assists, while Joelle Nawrocki and Desiree Pina had eight points apiece. Fairfield shot 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the field and outrebounded Manhattan 46-31. The Stags shot 25 percent (6-of-24) from beyond the arc, but just 41.2 percent (7-of-17) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan returns home on Friday night for a 7 p.m. matchup with Saint Peter's (7-12, 3-5 MAAC). It will be the first meeting of the season between the Lady Jaspers and Peahens, who split the two games last season. Friday is also NCAA "Pack the House Night." More details about the event will be released on gojaspers.com during the week.
NOTES: Manhattan swept the season series with Fairfield for the first time since 2005-06 and has won three straight against the Stags...Fairfield leads the all-time series 36-34...Manhattan improved to 8-0 this season when holding its opponent under 60 points...The Lady Jaspers used their fourth different starting lineup of the season, with White moving into the starting five...White also had 15 points against Iona on Feb. 9, 2009...Manhattan committed just seven turnovers in the game...Sunday's contest marked the first time this season that the Lady Jaspers won by fewer than 12 points...This was the last in a span of six consecutive afternoon games for Manhattan.