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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - In a contest that featured eight ties and 13 lead changes, the Manhattan College women's basketball team (8-7, 2-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end with a 63-59 loss to Fairfield (10-4, 3-0 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
With the Jaspers trailing 60-59 and under a minute remaining, Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) had a shot blocked, and Fairfield's Katelyn Linney grabbed the rebound. Ondya Morgan (New Brunswick, N.J.) went for the steal on the ensuing Fairfield possession, but was whistled for a foul at the 33-second mark. The foul was just the fifth against Manhattan in the second half, so Morgan used the Jaspers' remaining two fouls to both prevent the Stags from shooting a three and giving Manhattan enough time left on the clock.
After Desiree Pina hit a pair of free throws to make it a 62-59 game with 21 seconds left, each team used its last timeout. Looking for an open three-point look that would send the game into overtime, the Jaspers turned it over with 10 seconds remaining. Manhattan was forced to foul immediately, and Taryn Johnson sank the front end of a one-and-one to cap the Stags' 63-59 victory.
"The last possession was two-fold," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "We wanted to try to get a shot off the inbounds play, and if that didn't work, we wanted to set up a special play that we had. But we unfortunately turned the ball over and they got the possession."
The whole game was a back-and-forth affair, as neither team led by more than seven points the entire way. Manhattan jumped out to a 13-7 advantage on a Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) trey nine minutes in, but the Stags responded with a 16-3 run to take a 23-16 lead of their own with 4:47 remaining in the first half. However, Halfkenny, who had 11 first-half points, sank three-pointers on each of the Jaspers' next two possessions to but Manhattan back in front, 24-23. After a three ball by Alexys Vasquez and a Johnson jumper gave Fairfield a four-point lead, Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) nailed a trey to cut the deficit to one, 28-27. The Jaspers had the last possession of the half, but couldn't convert, and Fairfield took a one-point edge into the locker room.
Manhattan regained the lead on a Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) three-pointer on the first possession of the second half, but Johnson followed with a layup, and the teams traded baskets until it was deadlocked at 34-34. After two Johnson free throws gave Fairfield a 36-34 lead, back-to-back three-pointers by Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) put the Jaspers in front 40-36 at the 14:55 mark.
The Jaspers extended their cushion to six points at 44-38 on an Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) layup before the Stags used a 7-1 run to tie the game, 45-45, with 10:20 left. Fairfield opened up a six-point advantage of their own, 55-49, but Manhattan responded with eight straight points, regaining the lead on a Halfkenny layup at the 3:34 mark. That lead didn't last long, however, as Alexys Vasquez sank a three-pointer on the next Fairfield possession to give the lead back to the Stags. Manhattan went back in front, 59-58, on a pair of Skrec free throws with 2:28 remaining before a Johnson jumper gave Fairfield the lead for good.
"We played well, but we didn't finish," Olenowski said. "When that happens against a good team, you get this kind of result. I thought we played hard. We just didn't make the plays down the stretch."
Halfkenny tied a career-high with 15 points to lead the Jaspers. She also had seven rebounds and three assists. Roeder added 14 points, while Loutsenhizer notched 11 points and five boards. Skrec distributed a team-high five assists, as 16 of the Jaspers' 22 buckets were assisted. Manhattan shot 44 percent (22-of-50) as a team and outrebounded Fairfield 27-26. The Jaspers shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from three-point range and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) at the charity stripe.
For the Stags, Johnson recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. She also collected three steals and two blocks. Pina sank five treys and finished with 19 points to go along with four assists. Brittany MacFarlane contributed eight points and six rebounds, while Linney also notched eight points. The Stags shot 50 percent (23-of-46) from the floor, 45 percent (9-of-20) from downtown, and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) at the free throw line.
Things don't get any easier for the Jaspers, as they pay a visit to six-time defending MAAC champion Marist (8-6, 3-0 MAAC) at 7 p.m. on Monday night. The Red Foxes, who are tied with Fairfield for first place, have won 27 straight games against MAAC opposition. The last MAAC team to beat Marist was Manhattan, 65-62 on Feb. 28, 2010.
NOTES: Manhattan has faced Fairfield more than any other opponent in program history...The Stags now lead the all-time series 37-36...Manhattan saw its five-game winning streak against Fairfield snapped...The loss, Manhattan's first in nearly a month, also snapped the Jaspers' five-game home winning streak...Loutsenhizer moved past Susan Nangle into eighth place on Manhattan's all-time scoring list with 1,199 career points...Loutsenhizer played in her 100th consecutive game on Saturday...Halfkenny also had 15 points in the win over Cornell on Dec. 20...Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) hit the first three-point basket of her career in the game...The Jaspers lost for the first time this season when having more assists than turnovers...Manhattan outrebounded its opponent for just the third time this season.
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