RIVERDALE, N.Y. - After struggling offensively in a 49-48 loss to Albany in its home opener on Friday night, the Manhattan College women's basketball team found its groove on Tuesday. Five different Lady Jaspers scored at least seven points, led by Monica Roeder's (Marlton, N.J.) 15-point effort, as Manhattan (2-2) snapped its two-game losing streak with a 65-56 victory over Columbia (0-4) at Draddy Gymnasium.
"We really needed balanced scoring, and that's what we got tonight," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "We had good ball movement in the second half and our defensive pressure picked up, resulting in some easy baskets in transition."
Manhattan jumped out to an early 7-3 lead before Columbia rallied back to go in front 11-9. However, the Lady Jaspers responded with an Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) layup, then an Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) free throw and a Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) trey to open up a 15-11 advantage with 9:07 left before halftime. The Lions trimmed their deficit to one when Kathleen Barry's trey made it 19-18 at the 3:50 mark, but the Lady Jaspers stormed back with a 7-2 run over the next 3:30 and pushed their lead back to six, 26-20, on a Herrington three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining in the half. Manhattan shot 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from the field in the first half and took a 26-22 lead into the locker room.
The Lady Jaspers opened the second half on a 10-1 run to extend their lead to 13 points, 36-23, with 16:45 to go. Columbia got back within seven at 43-36 at the 13:13 mark before a Herrington trey and a layup by Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) on the Lady Jaspers' next two possessions pushed the lead back into double figures, 48-36. Manhattan's advantage eventually reached a game-high 16 points when a Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) trey capped an 8-0 run and put the Lady Jaspers up 56-40 with 6:05 remaining.
However, Columbia refused to go away. The Lions went on a 13-3 run over the next 4:06 to get back within six, 59-53, with 1:59 left. After Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) missed a layup and Barry grabbed the rebound for Columbia, Wentworth raced from behind and blocked Barry's jumper that would've made it a four-point game. She then drove down for a layup that pushed the lead back to eight, 61-53, with 53 seconds remaining. Wentworth drained a pair of foul shots on the next Manhattan possession to put the game out of reach, and the Lady Jaspers snapped their two-game skid with a 65-56 triumph.
Roeder led all scorers with 15 points. She added four rebounds and two assists. Wentworth added 14 points while also notching team-highs with four assists and four steals. Herrington contributed 11 points in 18 minutes off the bench, while Blair got the start and poured in eight points. Loutsenhizer tallied seven points and four rebounds. Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds, as the Lady Jaspers outrebounded the Lions 37-34. Peters also registered three blocks. Overall, Manhattan shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) as a team. The Lady Jaspers went 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from three-point land and 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) at the charity stripe.
Barry recorded a double-double to pace Columbia. She had 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and three steals. Lauren Dwyer added 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while Brianna Orlich and Taylor Ward each notched nine points. The Lions shot 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the field, 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from downtown, and 56.3 percent (9-of-16) at the line.
The Lady Jaspers now have eight days off before returning to action. Manhattan continues its four-game homestand on Dec. 1, when NJIT (0-3) visits Draddy Gymnasium at 7 p.m. It will be the first all-time meeting between the schools.
NOTES: The Lady Jaspers now hold a 9-5 edge in the all-time series...It was Manhattan's first win over an Ivy League opponent since a 66-44 triumph at Penn on Nov. 17, 2007, and first victory over Columbia since defeating the Lions 65-51 on Nov. 19, 2006 in the consolation game of the St. Bonaventure Shootout...Despite the proximity between the schools, Columbia hadn't visited Draddy Gymnasium since Manhattan posted an 84-60 victory on Nov. 21, 2000...Blair replaced Loutsenhizer in the starting lineup, and the Lady Jaspers improved to 2-0 in games that she starts...Peters' previous career-high was 11 rebounds, which she did twice last season...As a team, the Lady Jaspers had 16 assists on 21 successful field goals...Manhattan sank at least eight three-pointers for the third time in the first four games.
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