Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College women's basketball team returned to action for the first time in 11 days on Sunday afternoon, and the layoff didn't really seem to hurt the Lady Jaspers. After leading 27-24 at halftime, Manhattan (6-6, 1-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) opened the second half on a 13-2 run to pull away en route to a 56-44 victory over Rider (2-10, 0-1 MAAC) in each team's MAAC opener at Draddy Gymnasium.
"I felt the key was to start the second half strong," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "Once we built the lead, we gained confidence. And our shooting improved because our defense got better."
Rider jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, but Manhattan stormed back to take a 14-10 advantage on Lindsey Loutsenhizer's (North Huntingdon, Pa.) layup with 11:57 left in the first half. The Lady Jaspers increased their lead to six, 23-17, at the 5:18 mark, but Rider rallied for the next five points, pulling within one on a three-pointer by Amanda Sepulveda. After the teams traded free throws, Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) drained a pair at the line to give Manhattan a 27-24 halftime lead. The Lady Jaspers shot just 25.7 percent (9-of-35) from the field in the first half, but held the lead thanks to an 8-1 advantage on the offensive glass.
Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) drained layups on Manhattan's first two possessions of the second half, then had a steal that led to a fast-break bucket by Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.), prompting a Rider timeout. The lead reached 14 points on Abby Wentworth's (Portland, Maine) layup made it 42-28 with 13:45 remaining, but Rider responded with an 8-3 run to get back within nine, 45-36, with 8:41 to go.
However, that's as close as the Broncs would get, as a Peters layup ignited an 11-1 Manhattan run over the next six minutes that gave the Lady Jaspers their largest lead of the game, 56-37, at the 2:42 mark. Rider scored the final seven points of the game, but the margin was too much to overcome and the Lady Jaspers held on for their second straight victory, 56-44.
Pacheco tallied a game-high 21 points, her fourth 20-point game of the season, and added four rebounds and four assists. Loutsenhizer came off the bench for the second straight game and chipped in 13 points, while Peters had eight points, four rebounds and two blocks. Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) grabbed a career-high seven rebounds to lead the Lady Jaspers. Manhattan shot 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the field, 20 percent (3-of-15) from downtown, and 75 percent (15-of-20) at the line. The Lady Jaspers committed just 11 turnovers and converted 25 Rider turnovers into 27 points.
Caitlin Bopp finished with a double-double for the Broncs, posting 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Carleigh Brown added nine points and five rebounds, while Dior Brown had six rebounds off the bench. Sepulveda handed out a game-high five assists to go along with her five points. Rider shot 30.4 percent (14-of-46) from the field and outrebounded Manhattan 42-34. The Broncs shot 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from three-point range and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) at the charity stripe.
Manhattan concludes its five-game homestand on Tuesday night, when MAAC rival Iona (4-8, 0-1 MAAC) comes to Draddy Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. matchup. The teams split the season series in 2008-09, with the visiting team winning each contest.
NOTES: The Lady Jaspers have won two straight against Rider and lead the all-time series 22-7...This season marked the first time since 1998-99 that the Lady Jaspers didn't open conference play until the New Year...Manhattan won its MAAC opener for the third time in the past four seasons and improved to 7-22 all-time in MAAC openers...The Lady Jaspers have won back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 13-15, 2009, when they knocked off Rider and Loyola...Manhattan committed a season-low 11 turnovers and had a positive assist/turnover ratio for the second time this season...Pacheco has scored 20 points in three of the last four games and is averaging 21.8 points per game during that span...Halfkenny's previous career-high was five rebounds at Portland State on Dec. 21, 2008...Manhattan Assistant Coach Christine Catalanotto played at Rider from 2004-06.
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