Click here to view the 2010-11 Manhattan Women's Basketball Media Guide
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College women's basketball team's 2009-10 season ended prematurely at the hands of Niagara in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament. The Lady Jaspers got their first chance to avenge that defeat on Saturday afternoon, and they weren't going to let that opportunity slip away. Manhattan (9-5, 1-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) dominated from the start, holding the injury-depleted Purple Eagles (1-13, 0-3 MAAC) to just 23.1 percent (12-of-52) shooting and allowing a season-low 32 points in a 71-32 rout at Draddy Gymnasium.
"Certainly the girls were ready for this one, and it's nice to get off the snide and get in the win column," said Head Coach John Olenowski, whose team snapped a two-game losing streak.
It was close early on, as Manhattan held an 8-7 lead after Niagara's Meghan Waterman hit a pair of free throws at the 16:18 mark of the first half. The Lady Jaspers increased their advantage to seven points after back-to-back three-pointers from Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) and Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) made it 14-7, then Shy Britton hit a pair of free throws for Niagara with 14:20 remaining before halftime.
However, those free throws would be the Purple Eagles' last points for a span of over 12 minutes. Manhattan scored 20 points during the stretch, opening up a 34-9 edge on a layup by Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) before Niagara finally got back on the scoreboard on a three-pointer by Liz Flooks with 2:16 left in the half. Manhattan held Niagara to 10.7 percent (3-of-28) shooting in the first half and held a 38-12 advantage at the break.
After a Flooks layup on Niagara's first possession of the second half, Manhattan went on a 10-0 run to increase its lead to 34 points, 48-14, with 14:42 to play. The lead would dip under 30 only once the rest of the way and reached a game-high 42 points, 71-29, when Jazmine Jarvis (Henderson, Nev.) sank a layup for her first collegiate points with 34 seconds left. Flooks added a late trey to cut Niagara's final deficit to 39 points, 71-32.
"We played very well at Cornell, and this was the same type of game," Olenowski said. "We made our shots, executed the offense, and I thought we played really, really good defense throughout the entire game."
Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) had season-highs of 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists to pace the Lady Jaspers. Wentworth added 14 points and Herrington contributed 10 points. Peters finished with six boards and three blocks, while Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) notched points and a career-high nine rebounds off the bench. She also had a career-high four steals and tied a career-best with four assists. Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) also recorded four of Manhattan's season-high 17 steals. The Lady Jaspers forced 27 Niagara turnovers, outscoring the Purple Eagles 30-0 off takeaways. Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) pulled down a career-high eight rebounds to go along with five points.
Manhattan outrebounded Niagara 52-41, and the Lady Jaspers recorded a season-high eight blocks. As a team, the Lady Jaspers shot 38.4 percent (28-of-73) from the field, 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from downtown, and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) at the charity stripe.
Flooks was responsible for half of Niagara's offense. She had 16 points, including four three-pointers, and added four rebounds. Britton pulled down nine rebounds, while Noelle Zletni, starting in place of the injured Ali Morris, finished with seven rebounds and three assists. Niagara was also without starting point guard Kayla Stroman, the 2009-10 MAAC Rookie of the Year. Chanel Johnson also handed out three assists for the Purple Eagles. Niagara shot 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from three-point land and 40 percent (4-of-10) at the free throw line.
The Lady Jaspers hit the road for their next three contests, starting with a 7 p.m. matchup at Saint Peter's (1-12, 1-1 MAAC) on Monday night. Manhattan swept the season series with the Peahens last year and has won three out of four against Saint Peter's.
NOTES: It was the Lady Jaspers' sixth straight regular season victory over the Purple Eagles, and Manhattan now leads the all-time series 23-21...Niagara's 32 points were the fewest allowed by the Lady Jaspers since a 60-30 victory over Columbia during the 1991-92 season...The 39-point margin of victory was Manhattan's largest since an 80-39 win over Brown on Dec. 8, 2000...It was the first time the Lady Jaspers pulled down 50 rebounds in a game since they grabbed 51 against Rider on Jan. 30, 2003...The Lady Jaspers committed fewer than 15 turnovers for the sixth time this season and improved to 5-0 when having an assist/turnover ratio of better than 1:1...Manhattan used its fifth different starting lineup of the season, with Loutsenhizer making her first start since Nov. 19.
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