Box Score
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. ? Led by Michelle Pacheco's (Bronx, N.Y.) career-high 19 points, the Manhattan College women's basketball team (1-0) opened its 30th anniversary season with a 63-59 victory over St. Francis (NY) (0-1) at Peter Aquilone Court on Friday night. The Terriers stormed back from a 14-point halftime deficit to cut Manhattan's lead to four, but the Lady Jaspers held tight down the stretch and never surrendered the lead, securing their first season-opening victory since 2004.
The game started off tight and was tied at 9-9 five minutes in. After Kara Ayers hit a layup to put the Terriers in front 13-12 with 13:03 left in the first half, Annie McIntyre (Portland, Ore.) nailed a three on the other end to give Manhattan the lead for good. That bucket was the start of a 13-0 Manhattan run that gave the Lady Jaspers a 25-13 lead with 7:29 remaining before halftime. Kristin Leitheuser hit a jumper for St. Francis (NY) to end the Manhattan rally, but the Lady Jaspers responded with an 8-0 spurt and the lead reached a game-high 18 points when Nicole Harrison's (Falls Church, Va.) three-pointer made it 33-15 with 4:18 left in the half. The Lady Jaspers went 6-for-15 (40 percent) from three-point land in the opening 20 minutes and took a 37-23 lead into the locker room.
St. Francis (NY) came out on fire in the second half, opening the frame on a 16-6 run to cut Manhattan's lead to four, 43-39, with 10:08 left. Manhattan responded with three consecutive layups by Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) and a McIntyre trey to bring the lead back to double digits at 52-41 with 7:07 remaining. Another Loutsenhizer layup ran Manhattan's advantage to 13, 60-47, with 2:57 remaining, but St. Francis (NY) refused to just go into the night. The Terriers scored 12 of the next 14 points to cut the lead to three with eight seconds left. With St. Francis (NY) forced to foul to stop the clock, McIntyre drained a free throw to make it a two possession game with seven seconds remaining. Ayers missed a trey as time expired, and the Lady Jaspers secured a 63-59 season-opening win.
Pacheco had five assists, four rebounds and three steals to go along with her 19 points, while Loutsenhizer posted 14 points and six rebounds in her collegiate debut. McIntyre went 4-for-10 from three-point range to tie her career-high with 13 points. Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) tallied six points and two assists in her first collegiate game, and Kelly Regan (Williamsville, N.Y.) recorded six points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Lady Jaspers. Manhattan shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the field, 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from three-point range, and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) at the free throw line. The Lady Jaspers forced 26 St. Francis (NY) turnovers, leading to 25 points.
Ayers notched a game-high 23 points and added four assists and three steals for the Terriers. Kristin Leitheuser posted 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Kendra Williams chipped in 10 points and seven boards. As a team, the Terriers outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 37-34. St. Francis (NY) shot 40.8 percent (20-of-49) from the field and 88.9 percent (16-of-18) at the charity stripe, but went just 3-for-12 (25 percent) from behind the arc.
The Lady Jaspers are back in action on Sunday with a 2 p.m. matchup at Massachusetts (0-1). The Minutewomen dropped an 83-69 decision to Vermont in their season opener on Friday night.
NOTES: Pacheco had 13 points in the first half, tying her previous career-high, which she set at FDU on Dec. 15, 2007...With 13 points, McIntyre tied a career-high she set at Loyola on Jan. 21, 2007...Kerri White (Flushing, N.Y.) also made her collegiate debut, tallying an assist in five minutes of action...Manhattan is now 16-15 all-time in season openers...This was the first meeting between the teams since 1999...The Lady Jaspers are 11-1 all-time against the Terriers and have won the last 11 meetings...Including her time at St. Francis (PA), Myndi Hill improved to 7-0 career against St. Francis (NY).
