Click here to view the 2010-11 Manhattan Women's Basketball Media Guide
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - After dropping its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener to Loyola on Sunday, the Manhattan College women's basketball team was looking to get back on track against Siena in front of a boisterous Kid's Day crowd on Tuesday afternoon. However, the Lady Jaspers (8-5, 0-2 MAAC) were plagued by poor shooting all afternoon long and the Saints (4-8, 2-0 MAAC) took advantage, pulling away for a 51-44 victory at Draddy Gymnasium.
"We didn't shoot well and we didn't convert some easy opportunities. It was not a good day offensively for our team," Head Coach John Olenowski said.
The teams traded buckets early on, but after an Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) three-pointer gave Manhattan a 5-4 lead, the Lady Jaspers went cold from the floor, scoring just one point over the next nine minutes. Siena scored 12 points during that stretch and opened up a 16-6 advantage on a jumper by Maja Gerlyng at the 9:07 mark of the first half.
The Saints led 21-11 with 5:24 left in the period, but the Lady Jaspers got back within four when a three-pointer by Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) from the top of the key capped a 6-0 Manhattan run that made it 21-17 Siena with 3:20 remaining before halftime.
Siena led 25-17 at the break, then extended its advantage to 12 points, 37-25, on a trey by Kanika Cummings five minutes into the second half. With the Saints leading 39-27, Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) grabbed the rebound after a Wentworth miss and put in a layup to make it a 10-point game. That basket ignited a 12-2 Manhattan rally over the next six minutes, and the Lady Jaspers got back within two at 41-39 on a pair of Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) free throws with 6:44 remaining.
The Saints extended their lead back to six with 1:30 left, but Herrington drained a trey on the other end to make it 47-44 with 44 seconds to go. After a timeout, Manhattan was forced to foul, and Gerlyng hit both free throws to again make it a five-point game. However, Herrington's three on the other end came up short and Siena's Serena Moore grabbed the rebound. Moore then drained two free throws to put the game away, 51-44.
Lawrence led the Lady Jaspers with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Herrington added eight points, while Wentworth notched seven points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) finished with a team-high six boards to go along with six points, five steals and three blocks. Manhattan shot 34.9 percent (15-of-43) overall, but just 15.8 percent (3-of-19) from three-point range. The Lady Jaspers went 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) at the free throw line.
Moore, the MAAC's leading scorer, had a double-double for Siena, posting game-highs with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Gerlyng added 10 points, while Cathy Cockrum pulled down seven rebounds. Cristina Centeno and Missy Ramsey each dished out three assists to lead the Saints. Siena shot 37 percent (17-of-46) from the field and outrebounded Manhattan 37-24. The Saints shot 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from downtown and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) at the charity stripe.
The Lady Jaspers wrap up their four-game homestand on Saturday afternoon, when they host Niagara (1-11, 0-1 MAAC) at 2 p.m. Manhattan swept the regular season series with Niagara in 2009-10, but the Purple Eagles notched a 66-54 victory when the squads met in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament. There will be an autograph session with the Lady Jaspers for members of the Junior Jaspers Kids Club following Saturday's game.
NOTES: The crowd of 864 included more than 600 students from local elementary schools...At halftime, the winners of an essay contest at each grade level were awarded a basketball signed by the Lady Jaspers...Each of the schools in attendance donated toys to the Children's Miracle Network's J.E. & Z.B. Butler Child Advocacy Center at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore...It was Siena's second straight win over Manhattan, and the Saints now lead the all-time series 32-17...Manhattan fell to 0-2 in the MAAC for the first time since the 2003-04 season...The Lady Jaspers didn't have a shot blocked for the first time this season...Wentworth played in her 100th career game on Tuesday...The 11:30 a.m. start was Manhattan's earliest of the regular season.
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