RIVERDALE, N.Y. - In an effort to beat the snow, the Manhattan College women's basketball team moved its Saturday night matchup with Cornell to the afternoon. And for a while, it seemed like a good idea. Manhattan (4-6) scored the first eight points of the game and led 29-25 at halftime, but the Big Red (5-3) erupted for 46 second half points, and the Lady Jaspers' comeback attempt fell just short in Cornell's 71-67 win at Draddy Gymnasium.
The Lady Jaspers came out of the gate on fire, hitting their first four shots to build that 8-0 cushion not even two minutes into the game. After the teams traded baskets to make it 10-2 in favor of Manhattan, Cornell went on an 8-3 run, pulling within three when Allie Fedorowicz sank a three-pointer to make it 13-10 at the 9:10 mark. A layup by Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) on the ensuing Manhattan possession ignited a 9-3 Lady Jaspers rally that pushed the lead back to nine points, 22-13, with 4:03 left in the half.
Following another Peters layup that gave Manhattan a 24-16 advantage with 3:34 remaining, Cornell responded with a 9-0 run, and took its first lead of the game, 25-24, on a pair of Virginia McMunigal free throws with 53 seconds to go before halftime. Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) nailed a trey to put the Lady Jaspers back in front, then Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) hit a layup with four seconds left to give Manhattan a four-point lead, 29-25, at intermission.
Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) opened the second half with a driving layup that increased the Lady Jaspers' lead to six, but a 7-0 Cornell run put the Big Red back in front, 32-31. After a Herrington jumper reestablished a one-point advantage for the Lady Jaspers, Taylor Flynn sank a three that gave Cornell back a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The Big Red extended their lead to seven points, 46-39, on a Virginia McMunigal three-pointer with 12:53 remaining, but Manhattan rallied to get back within two, 48-46, on Loutsenhizer's layup at the 11:00 mark. However, Cornell responded with another run, scoring 12 of the next 16 points to open up its biggest lead of the game, 60-50, with 6:54 left.
After going down 10, Manhattan used its defense to get back into the game. The Lady Jaspers held the Big Red without a field goal the rest of the way and scoreless for the next 1:40. However, Manhattan couldn't take advantage on the offensive end, only pulling within four, 61-57 with 2:55 left, before five straight Cornell free throws pushed the Big Red's lead back to nine points, 66-57 at the 1:10 mark.
A traditional three-point play by Pacheco pulled Manhattan within six, then, after Fedorowicz hit a pair of foul shots for the Big Red, Abby Wentworth's (Portland, Maine) trey with 35 seconds left brought the Lady Jaspers within five points, 68-63. Following a Manhattan timeout, the Lady Jaspers got the ball back on a McMunigal turnover, and Wentworth sank a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game, 68-65. After another Cornell turnover on the inbounds play, Wentworth drove for a layup to make it a one-point game, 68-67, with 18 seconds left. Manhattan Head Coach John Olenowski took his final timeout, then Fedorowicz was fouled immediately. She made both free throws, but Manhattan still had a chance down 70-67. Wentworth had a good look at a game-tying three, but it was off the mark and Fedorowicz grabbed the rebound for Cornell. She went 1-for-2 at the line to cap a 71-67 Big Red victory.
Pacheco paced the Lady Jaspers with 23 points. She added six rebounds, six steals and four assists. Wentworth finished with 14 points, while Herrington tallied 12 points. Peters chipped in eight points to go along with a career-high five steals and a team-best eight rebounds. Loutsenhizer also grabbed eight boards, and Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) pulled down six rebounds off the bench. Manhattan shot 31.9 percent (22-of-69) from the field, but was plagued by uncharacteristically poor three-point shooting. The Lady Jaspers went just 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) from beyond the arc and 20-for-30 (66.7 percent) at the free throw line.
McMunigal tallied 19 points to lead the Big Red. Fedorowicz added 15 points, including seven at the line down the stretch, while Clare Fitzpatrick had 11 points and five assists. Lauren Benson, who entered the contest ranked seventh in the nation in assists, had five helpers to go along with five rebounds. Allie Munson grabbed a team-high eight boards, as the Big Red outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 49-37. Cornell shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field, including 52 percent (13-of-25) in the second half. The Big Red shot 36 percent (9-of-25) from downtown and 74.1 percent (20-of-27) at the charity stripe.
The Lady Jaspers have one game remaining in the 2009 calendar year. Manhattan concludes non-conference play on Tuesday night, when local rival Fordham (6-4) comes to Draddy Gymnasium for the 41st "Battle of the Bronx." Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Last season, the Rams posted a 62-49 victory over the Lady Jaspers.
NOTES: The start of the game was moved from 7 p.m. to 2 p.m. because of the major snowstorm expected to hit the New York area later on Saturday afternoon...As a result of the time change, there was no webcast, and there will be no on-demand video of the game...The time change and weather also limited the crowd to just 109...It was the first all-time meeting between the schools...Manhattan's two games against Ivy League opponents this season (Columbia and Cornell) were decided by a combined seven points...The Lady Jaspers went 0-2 in those two games...After winning its first four games when leading at halftime, Manhattan has lost back-to-back contests after leading at the half in each game...With her three-pointer at the 7:57 mark of the first half, Herrington became the seventh player in program history with 100 career treys...Pacheco recorded her second straight 20-point game, and her third of the season...Peters' previous career-high was four steals in the win over Elon on Dec. 1.
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