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NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - In a preview of next weekend's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) quarterfinals, the Manhattan College women's basketball team (21-8, 13-5 MAAC) knocked off Iona (11-19, 7-11 MAAC) 57-51 at the Hynes Athletic Center in each team's regular season finale on Sunday afternoon. Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) scored her 1,000th career point in the win, which established a new school record for victories in a season.
Wentworth reached 1,000 points with a pair of free throws 3:23 into the game that put Manhattan in front 6-0. After a Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) layup made it 8-2, Iona went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 11-8. The Lady Jaspers regained the lead at 12-11 when Wentworth sank a pair of free throws at the 8:54 mark. Iona came back to tie the score at 14-14, and it was tied again at 17-17 and 19-19 before Roeder drained two three-pointers to give the Lady Jaspers a 25-19 advantage with 47 seconds remaining before halftime. Manhattan led 26-22 at the break.
The Lady Jaspers opened the second half on a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 11 points, 35-24, but Iona responded with a 7-0 rally of its own to get back within four, 35-31, with 14:06 remaining. A Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) three-point play at the 11:23 mark then sparked a 14-6 Manhattan run that brought the Lady Jaspers' advantage back to a game-high 12 points, 49-37, with 6:28 left. After Loutsenhizer hit a pair of free throws to make it 54-42 with 1:47 to play, Iona scored nine of the final 12 points to make the final margin six points, 57-51.
Loutsenhizer tallied 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Lady Jaspers. Wentworth finished with 13 points, while Roeder notched 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) contributed nine points and six rebounds, and Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) had seven points and six boards to go along with two blocks and three steals. As a team, Manhattan shot 40 percent (18-of-45) from the field, 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from long range, and 78.3 percent (18-of-23) at the free throw line.
Milica Paligoric had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Kristina Ford led Iona with 12 points and added seven rebounds, while Anda Ivkovic tallied 10 points and five boards. Marissa Flagg handed out four assists for the Gaels. Tomica Bacic and Diana Hubbard both grabbed six rebounds, as Iona outrebounded Manhattan 44-30, including an 18-4 edge on the offensive glass. Iona shot 29.3 percent (17-of-58) from the field, 28 percent (7-of-25) from three-point range, and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) at the charity stripe.
Both teams knew prior to the game that they were locked into a rematch on Friday, when they will meet at 11:30 a.m. at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn., in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament. The Manhattan-Iona winner takes on either Loyola (18-11, 15-3 MAAC), Canisius (10-19, 6-12 MAAC) or Niagara (1-28, 0-18 MAAC) in the semifinals at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
NOTES: The Lady Jaspers swept the regular season series with Iona for the first time since 2007-08 and improved to 42-21 all-time against the Gaels...The 13 MAAC wins are Manhattan's most since going 15-3 and winning the regular season title in 2002-03...Manhattan ended the regular season with a victory for the fourth straight year...This season's 11 road wins are the most since the Lady Jaspers won 11 games away from Draddy Gymnasium in 1995-96...Wentworth became the 18th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, and the first since Kelly Regan reached the mark on Feb. 9, 2009, also against Iona...She now has 1,011 career points...The Lady Jaspers used their ninth different starting lineup of the season, with Lawrence and Loutsenhizer both getting the start for the first time this season...Manhattan didn't have a bench point in the game...Manhattan and Iona have only met in the MAAC Tournament once previously, in the 1987 quarterfinals.
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