By Ronak Patel
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The last time the Manhattan College Lady Jaspers won more than four games in a row was 2003. That season, the Lady Jaspers' win streak reached 13 en route to the MAAC title.
On Sunday at Draddy Gymnasium, Manhattan eclipsed the four-game streak barrier for the first time since then with a 54-42 victory over Canisius. The victory moves Manhattan's overall record to 17-6 overall and 9-3 in the MAAC. What made this victory noteworthy were the timely contributions from throughout the roster, especially when star senior guard Abby Wentworth battled foul trouble early in the game and played just 26 minutes, the second fewest on the season.
"It's amazing," junior guard Alyssa Herrington said about the winning streak. "We did a good job today. We started out fast, but kept right in it when they made a comeback."
Manhattan jumped out to a 17-0 lead, and it was more than 10 minutes into the game before the Griffs got on the scoreboard with a Tauralee Tenn lay-in. Despite a spirited comeback by Canisius in the first half, Manhattan still led 27-18 at halftime. The Lady Jaspers' defense limited Canisius to just 7-of-27 shooting (25.9%) and forced 13 turnovers.
"We were intense and our coach always talks to us of being intense," Herrington said.
But Canisius would not go away and on couple of occasions in the second half, was within striking distance. The first such example came early in the second. Junior forward Nadia Peters' lay-in made it 29-18, but Canisius scored four quick points to cut the margin to seven, 29-22. Then Herrington went to work. Herrington, who led the team with a season-high 16 points in the game, scored five quick points, three of which came on one of her patented 3-pointers and the latter two on free throws. After sophomore forward Toni-Ann Lawrence scored on a traditional three-point play (she was fouled on her lay-in and made the free throw), Manhattan had its lead up to 37-22.
"I didn't really think about it. I just want to do it for the team," Herrington said of her shooting (she hit 4-of-6 from three-point land). "Everyone is stepping up on the team. We'll all coming together and contributing to the team and winning."
The bench had 23 points (16 by Herrington) and others also stepped up when it mattered most. Peters continued her theft assault by collecting a career-high-tying six steals in the game - she's had 20 steals during the win streak. She also snared eight rebounds and scored nine points. But it was one play by her that typified Manhattan's resiliency.
When the Griffs sliced Manhattan's 37-22 lead down to 37-32, Peters made one of the game's biggest plays when in between two Canisius defenders, she tracked down her own missed lay-in and scored when her second shot attempt bounced from the bottom of the rim, upwards, and slipped in the basket. She then knocked down the free throw. Her score started a 15-3 run that put the game away. During the run, Manhattan got five points from junior forward Lindsey Loutsenhizer (she scored 11 points overall), a lay-in by sophomore guard Maggie Blair, a dagger 3-pointer by Herrington and, to cap the spurt, two free throws by Wentworth. On the possession before Herrington's three-pointer, Peters made a defensive-back type steal when she telegraphed Micayla Drysdale's pass and picked it off underneath the baseline.
"Abby starts the great pressure on the perimeter and once she starts it, my eyes get hungry and I go for the steal," Peters said. "The great thing about our team is no one has to score 20 points every single game. If one person is not scoring, another person steps up and that's a major component to why we win."
With six conference games left before the MAAC Tournament begins on March 3, the Lady Jaspers are on a roll and look no further than the entire team for the reason why.
