RIVERDALE, N.Y. - With her team leading by one, Albany's Ebone Henry missed the front end of a one-and-one and Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) corralled the rebound with 19 seconds remaining to give the Manhattan College women's basketball team a chance to post a dramatic victory in its home opener on Friday night. The Lady Jaspers (1-2) worked the ball around and got the shot they wanted, but Schyanne Halfkenny's (Hyde Park, Mass.) layup at the buzzer didn't fall and the Great Danes (3-0) held on for a 49-48 victory at Draddy Gymnasium.
Manhattan rallied back from six down with 6:33 left to take a 48-47 lead on an Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) three-point play at the 2:24 mark. Albany went in front, 49-48, on a Felicia Johnson jumper with 1:18 to play, then got the ball back thanks to Kate Cronin's steal on the Lady Jaspers' next possession. Albany called timeout with 39 seconds to go and Manhattan, which had just four second-half team fouls to that point, began fouling to prevent the Great Danes from running down the clock. Halfkenny fouled Henry to put Albany in the one-and-one with 19 seconds left, and her miss followed by Loutsenhizer's rebound gave Manhattan one last chance.
"This was a difficult game, but we still had that opportunity at the end," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "We wanted to get the last shot. We just didn't convert."
Albany scored the first five points of the back-and-forth defensive battle, but the Lady Jaspers responded with an 8-0 run, taking their first lead of the game on an Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) three-pointer at the 13:40 mark of the first half. After Manhattan extended its lead to nine, 18-9, with 9:07 left in the first half, the Great Danes rallied for seven of the next nine points to get back within four with 5:00 remaining before halftime. However, the Lady Jaspers held Albany scoreless for the remainder of the period and headed into the locker room with a 24-16 advantage.
The lead got back to nine points, 27-18, at the 17:20 mark of the second half, but a Johnson three-pointer ignited a 25-10 Albany run that put the Great Danes in front 43-37 with 6:33 remaining.
Manhattan's comeback began in earnest when Wentworth was fouled on a three-pointer and drained all three free throws. After a pair of Adrienne Jones foul shots pushed Albany's lead back to five, 45-40, Loutsenhizer sank a pair at the charity stripe for Manhattan. Halfkenny then converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 47-45 with 4:05 to go before Wentworth's three-point play at the 2:24 mark gave the Lady Jaspers a one-point edge.
"Abby played her heart out," Olenowski said about his senior captain, who played all 40 minutes. "She made it really difficult for them (Albany) the entire game, both offensively and defensively. She had a great effort."
Wentworth went 5-for-8 from the field and 6-for-7 at the line for a team-high 17 points. She also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) was the only other Lady Jasper in double-figures, notching a career-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Halfkenny finished with eight points, while Loutsenhizer tallied seven points and tied a career-high with two blocks. Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) grabbed a team-high five rebounds for the Lady Jaspers. As a team, Manhattan shot 38.1 percent (16-of-42) from the field, 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from long distance, and 72.2 percent (13-of-18) at the charity stripe.
Johnson recorded a game-high 21 points to go along with four assists and five steals for the Great Danes. Henry posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Julie Forster contributed six points, eight boards and two blocks. The Great Danes shot 31.5 percent (17-of-54) from the field and outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 34-31. Albany shot 24 percent (6-of-25) from three-point land and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) at the free throw line.
Manhattan continues its four-game homestand on Tuesday night, when local rival Columbia (0-3) visits Draddy Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. contest. The Lions won last season's meeting at Levien Gymnasium by a 69-66 count. The sides haven't met in Riverdale since an 84-60 Lady Jaspers victory on Nov. 21, 2000.
NOTES: Manhattan is now 1-1 in home openers under Olenowski...It was just the second all-time meeting between the schools, and the first since a 74-56 Manhattan triumph on Nov. 30, 1999...The Lady Jaspers held their opponent under 50 points for the second time in three games this season...Lawrence's previous career-high was seven points, which she set twice last season...Loutsenhizer had two blocks in a game for the first time since she recorded two blocks at Columbia on Nov. 24, 2009...The Lady Jaspers' last one-point loss was a 56-55 defeat at Saint Peter's on Feb. 23, 2009.
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