Click here to view the 2010-11 Manhattan Women's Basketball Media Guide
BRONX, N.Y. - After trailing by 13 points early in the second half, the Manhattan College women's basketball team (6-3) stormed all the way back to claim a 49-45 victory over Fordham (6-6) in the annual "Battle of the Bronx" at Rose Hill Gym on Saturday night. Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) had 14 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, as the Lady Jaspers outscored the Rams 31-15 after intermission.
"This was a great team victory," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "That was our best second half, especially defensively, of the season. I'm proud of our comeback, especially after suffering a tough loss (to Lafayette) last week."
Fordham led 30-18 at halftime and increased its advantage to 33-20 on a layup by Tiffany Stokes at the 18:33 mark of the second half. Manhattan's comeback started in earnest when Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) drained a pair of free throws, then added a layup before Stokes hit another layup at the other end to make it 35-24 Fordham with 16:46 left.
On Manhattan's next possession, Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) drained a three-pointer that rolled around the rim before finally banking in off the glass. Herrington's trey started a 12-2 Manhattan run that got the Lady Jaspers back within one, 37-36, with 10:29 remaining. Fordham's Abigail Corning hit a three on the other end, but Manhattan got back-to-back layups from Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) and Wentworth to tie the score at 40-40 with 5:34 to go.
Stokes went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to put Fordham back in front, but Wentworth responded with a three-pointer to give the Lady Jaspers their first lead since early in the first half, a 43-41 advantage at the 4:44 mark. Loutsenhizer followed with a layup, then Herrington added a foul shot to increase the lead to five points, 46-41, with 3:40 left. Fordham got back within two, 46-44, at the 1:38 mark, but would get no closer, and Manhattan held on for the come-from-behind 49-45 triumph.
"We really get up for this rivalry," said Olenowski, who improved to 2-0 against Fordham in his career. "It's great to come out of here with a nice road win."
Manhattan opened up a 4-3 lead early in the first half before Becky Peters scored seven straight points to put the Rams in front, 11-4. A Becky Peters trey at the 10:34 mark of the opening stanza increased Fordham's lead to 18-6 before the Lady Jaspers rallied for seven straight points to get back within five, 18-13, with 8:30 left in the first half. However, the Rams responded with a 10-0 run over the next 5:33 to increase their advantage to a game-high 15 points, 28-13, with 3:57 remaining before halftime. Manhattan committed 11 first half turnovers, which led to 16 Fordham points, as the Rams held a 30-18 edge at the break.
Wentworth's 18 points tied her season-high. She added five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Loutsenhizer contributed 11 points and five rebounds, while Herrington made her first start of the season and notched eight points. Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) tied for the team lead with five rebounds, and Nadia Peters tallied six points, four rebounds and two blocks. As a team, the Lady Jaspers shot 39 percent (16-of-41) from the field, 20 percent (3-of-15) from three-point range, and 51.9 percent (14-of-27) at the charity stripe.
"Abby did a great job running the offense, and Nadia came up with some key blocks and steals in critical moments," Olenowski said.
Becky Peters finished with 16 points and six rebounds to lead the Rams. Stokes added 14 points and five boards, while Abigail Corning notched nine points and six rebounds. Kristina Bell and Kyara Weekes each handed out four assists, and Weekes added three steals. Fordham shot 36.4 percent (16-of-44) from the field and outrebounded Manhattan 33-30. The Rams shot 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from downtown and 50 percent (6-of-12) at the free throw line.
Manhattan concludes its non-conference road slate on Tuesday, when the Lady Jaspers visit Cornell (1-6) for a 7 p.m. matchup. The Big Red host Canisius on Sunday afternoon.
NOTES: Manhattan and Fordham have met at least once each season since 1979-80...Saturday's matchup was the 42nd meeting between the schools...The Lady Jaspers lead the all-time series 24-18...The home team had won five straight in the series since Manhattan's 64-60 victory at Rose Hill Gym on Nov. 19, 2004...It was Manhattan's first victory when scoring less than 50 points since a 49-45 win over Saint Peter's in the first round of the MAAC Tournament on March 3, 2005...Manhattan held its opponent under 50 points for the fifth time this season and improved to 4-1 in those games...The Lady Jaspers used their third different starting lineup in as many games, with Herrington moving into the starting five.
To follow Manhattan Athletics on Twitter, go to twitter.com/GoJaspers or visit Manhattan's Facebook fan page.