Siena Sinks Manhattan at Buzzer, 53-51

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Six days ago, Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) hit a jumper as time expired to secure the Manhattan College women's basketball team's 55-53 win over Niagara.  On Friday night against Siena, the Lady Jaspers saw the game decided in the last second for the second time in a week.  This time, however, Manhattan fell victim to the buzzer-beater, as Merrick Volpe sank the game-winning layup with 0.3 seconds remaining to give the Saints (9-15, 7-8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) a 53-51 victory over the Lady Jaspers (13-13, 8-7 MAAC) at UHY Court at the Alumni Recreation Center.

Manhattan tied the game at 51-51 on a layup by Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) with 1:42 left.  The Lady Jaspers forced a shot clock violation, Siena's fourth of the game, on the Saints' next possession, then took timeout with 59 seconds to go.  Manhattan had three looks at the basket, but each time the shot didn't fall.  After the ball went out of bounds to Siena with nine seconds remaining, each team took its last timeout to set up a play.  Volpe took the inbounds pass and drove down for the winning basket.

Unlike the first game between these two teams, where the Lady Jaspers jumped out to a 22-2 lead and cruised to a 7-53 victory, this one was close throughout, as the first half saw three ties and 10 lead changes.  Siena built a three-point lead when a layup by Serena Moore made it 16-13, but the Lady Jaspers rallied for the next five points to take a two-point edge of their own, 18-16.  The Saints broke a 23-23 tie on Sarah Fullmer's jumper with 1:31 left in the first half, but Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) sank a three-pointer on the other end to put Manhattan back in front, 26-25.  Loutsenhizer nailed another trey with seven seconds remaining in the period to give the Lady Jaspers a 29-25 halftime cushion.

Manhattan increased its lead to a game-high six points early in the second half, but Siena stormed back to tie the score at 36-36 at the 9:41 mark.  The Lady Jaspers went back in front on a Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) layup, but Fullmer responded on the other end.  Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) then rattled off five straight points to make it 43-38 Manhattan with 6:27 remaining.  However, Siena wouldn't go away, as the Saints went on a 12-2 run over the next 2:14 to open up a five-point advantage of their own, 50-45.  This time it was the Lady Jaspers' turn to rally back, as Peters' layup with 1:42 left capped a 6-1 Manhattan spurt and tied the game at 51-51.

Pacheco finished with a game-high 19 points to lead the Lady Jaspers.  She also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists.  Loutsenhizer tallied 15 points to go along with five rebounds, while Wentworth notched seven points, five rebounds and three assists.  Peters had six points, five boards and three blocks, and Kerri White (Flushing, N.Y.) pulled down a team-high six rebounds.  Manhattan shot 41.7 percent (20-of-48) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from three-point land, and 60 percent (6-of-10) at the free throw line.

Fullmer led Siena with 16 points and a game-high seven rebounds.  Moore finished with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Volpe tallied 12 points, four boards, four assists and three steals.  Siena handed out 16 assists on 19 made field goals and outrebounded Manhattan 33-29.  The Saints shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the field, including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from downtown, and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) at the charity stripe.

The Lady Jaspers conclude the regular season with a three-game homestand that gets underway on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Canisius (10-16, 5-10 MAAC).  Earlier this season in Buffalo, the teams went into double overtime before the Griffs prevailed, 69-65.