Box Score
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Led by a balanced team effort that saw all five starters score at least nine points, the Manhattan College women's basketball squad (4-4) picked up its first road win of the season, a 65-52 triumph over Army (5-4) at Christl Arena on Tuesday night. Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) led the Lady Jaspers with 18 points.
"Tonight the girls gave a terrific effort, both offensively and defensively," Head Coach John OIenowski said. "Our goal was to get a quick start and pressure them throughout the entire game. I believe our team did a great job of following the game plan, and we had very well-balanced scoring. This was easily our best effort of the year."
The Lady Jaspers got out to the quick start their coach was looking for, making 11 of their first 16 shots to build a 25-9 advantage midway through the first half. Army scored five points in the next 51 seconds to trim the lead to 11, but a Wentworth three-pointer and a layup by Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) pushed Manhattan's lead back to 16 at 32-16 with 6:16 left before halftime.
Army responded with a 7-0 run to again bring the lead under 10, then, following a Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) layup, Nalini Hawkins drained a three to make it an eight-point game, 34-26, with 4:12 remaining in the half. Wentworth sank another trey on the Lady Jaspers' next possession, and the lead was never in single-digits again. Manhattan scored the next seven points to run its lead to 41-26, and the Lady Jaspers had a 41-28 advantage at intermission. Manhattan shot a blistering 58.1 percent (18-of-31) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
The Black Knights opened the second half on an 8-4 run to get back within 11 at 45-34 at the 14:30 mark, but Wentworth again answered for Manhattan, hitting a jumper on the other end to ignite a 15-4 rally that increased the Lady Jaspers' lead to a game-high 22 points, 60-38, with 6:18 remaining. After Hawkins hit a jumper to pull Army within 60-42 at the 4:56 mark, the Black Knights were held without a field goal the rest of the way. However, the Black Knights, who didn't miss a free throw in the contest, scored their final 10 points at the line to trim the final margin to a respectable 13 points, 65-52. Army made just five field goals and shot 19.2 percent (5-of-26) from the field in the second half.
Wentworth tallied four rebounds, two assists and two steals to go along with her game-high 18 points. Pacheco registered 16 points and added six assists and three steals. Loutsenhizer finished with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) posted 10 points, five boards and two blocks. Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) chipped in nine points and recorded a career-high six steals for the Lady Jaspers. As a team, Manhattan shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field, 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from downtown, and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) at the free throw line.
Erin Anthony had a double-double for Army, posting 12 points and 11 rebounds. Hawkins finished with 11 points, while Laura Baranek and Molly Yardley each added seven points for the Black Knights. Jessie Coiffard dished out three assists. Army shot 32.7 percent (17-of-52) from the field in the game, including just 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from three-point range. The Black Knights were a perfect 17-for-17 at the charity stripe and outrebounded Manhattan 37-28.
The contest was Manhattan's final non-conference road game of the season, and it concluded a span where the Lady Jaspers played four out of five away from Draddy Gymnasium. Up next, the Lady Jaspers kick off a season-long five-game homestand against Hofstra (4-3) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Pride posted an 81-61 victory over the Lady Jaspers last season on Long Island.
NOTES: The win snapped Manhattan's five-game road losing streak...Manhattan improved to 7-4 all-time against the Black Knights...It was the first meeting between the teams in West Point since the 1998-99 season...After scoring only 47 points in the entire game in a loss to Army last season, the Lady Jaspers had 41 points at halftime on Tuesday...Herrington's previous career-high was four steals at Hofstra on Nov. 25, 2008...Freshman Karita Brown (Sterling, Va.) notched her first career block in the game...There was a total of just six combined fouls in the first half...All but two of Manhattan's points came from the starting five...The Lady Jaspers outscored the Black Knights 38-18 in the paint and converted 24 Army turnovers into 23 points.
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