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FAIRFIELD, Conn. - With the top two scoring defenses in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) (and two of the top four in the nation) facing off, points were expected to be at a premium in the Manhattan College women's basketball team's showdown at Fairfield on Sunday afternoon. Those predictions proved to be correct. After a tough 40-minute battle at Alumni Hall, it was the Lady Jaspers (12-5, 4-2 MAAC) that ended up on top, 52-44. It was Manhattan's fourth consecutive win and the third straight loss for Fairfield (10-6, 3-3 MAAC).
As expected, points were hard to come by. Fairfield took a 7-6 lead on a three-pointer by Desiree Pina at the 13:17 mark of the first half before a layup by Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) put the Lady Jaspers in front. That bucket started a 6-0 rally that pushed Manhattan's advantage to five, 12-7. However, Fairfield rallied back within one at 14-13 on a Taryn Johnson layup with 6:03 left in the half. On the ensuing Manhattan possession, Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) nailed a trey that sparked a 9-0 run which gave the Lady Jaspers a 10-point, 23-13 edge with 2:37 remaining before halftime.
Manhattan led 25-18 at the break, then scored nine of the first 13 points in the second half to extend their advantage to 12 at 34-22. However, Fairfield stormed back, going on an 18-5 run over the next 10:47. The Stags took their first lead since it was 7-6 when Katie Cizynski's jumper made it 40-39 Fairfield with 3:49 remaining. On the Stags' next trip up the floor, Lawrence jumped in front of a Cizynski pass and drove down for an uncontested layup that put Manhattan back in front, 41-40.
"That was the play of the game. No doubt about it," Head Coach John Olenowski said about Lawrence's coast-to-coast layup.
After a Fairfield miss and a Manhattan timeout, Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) drained a three-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock was running out to make it a two-possession game, 44-40, with 2:09 left. Fairfield came up empty on the other end, then was forced to foul to stop the clock. The Lady Jaspers went 6-for-6 at the free throw line down the stretch to ice the victory, then put an exclamation point on the 52-44 triumph with Wentworth's layup at the buzzer.
Wentworth finished with 19 points to lead the Lady Jaspers. She also registered six steals and handed out two assists. Loutsenhizer posted 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals, while Lawrence notched nine points, eight boards and two assists off the bench. Manhattan shot 38.8 percent (19-of-49) from the field, 40 percent (4-of-10) from three-point land, and 90.9 percent (10-of-11) at the charity stripe.
"We were playing against the number-two scoring defense in the country, so I knew it was going to be tough," Olenowski said. "We wanted to get the ball inside, and we were able to do that."
Manhattan scored 30 points in the paint and attempted a season-low 10 three-point shots.
Cizynski had 12 points, all in the second half, and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field for the Stags. She also pulled down six rebounds. Johnson finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Pina tallied 11 points and Katelyn Linney added 10 points. Brittany MacFarlane tied for a game-high with eight rebounds, as Fairfield outrebounded Manhattan 33-32. Joelle Nawrocki handed out five assists to pace the Stags. As a team, Fairfield shot 35.8 percent from the floor, including 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from downtown, and 33.3 percent (1-of-3) at the line.
After playing four games in nine days, the Lady Jaspers now have almost an entire week off before returning to action. Five-time defending MAAC champion Marist (15-2, 6-0 MAAC) comes to Riverdale on Saturday for a 2 p.m. matchup on Alumni Day at Draddy Gymnasium. Last year, the teams met in the season finale, and Manhattan snapped its 14-game losing streak against the Red Foxes with a 65-62 triumph.
NOTES: Manhattan has faced Fairfield more than any other opponent in program history...This was the 71st all-time meeting between the schools, and the Stags now lead the series 36-35...It was Manhattan's fourth straight victory over Fairfield...Fairfield entered the contest ranked second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing a mere 48.2 points per game, while Manhattan's 49.8 points against per game ranked fourth...After going more than six years without a four-game winning streak, the Lady Jaspers have now won four straight for the second time this season...Manhattan has won four straight MAAC contests since starting the 2007-08 season 4-0 in conference play...The Lady Jaspers committed just six personal fouls in the game...Lawrence is averaging 8.0 points and 7.3 rebounds during the Lady Jaspers' four-game winning streak.
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