Box Score
Click here to view the 2011-12 Manhattan Women's Basketball Yearbook
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - After starting the season by playing seven of its first eight contests away from home, the Manhattan College women's basketball team finally returned to Draddy Gymnasium to begin a five-game homestand on Saturday night. And the Jaspers enjoyed the home cooking. It took five extra minutes, but Manhattan (3-6) started the homestand on the right foot, snapping a three-game skid with a 71-59 overtime victory against Monmouth (3-8).
"We needed this win in the worst way," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "We struggled on the road a little bit. We were in every game on the road, but here, I think we had a little more energy at the end. This was big. We needed it, and we were very happy to get it."
Manhattan jumped out to an early 11-4 lead before the Hawks scored five straight points to make it an 11-9 game. The Jaspers responded with a 7-2 rally to bring their lead back to nine, 18-9, midway through the first half. After Monmouth pulled within three, Manhattan's lead again reached eight points on a Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) layup that made the score 29-21 with 1:43 remaining before halftime. Monmouth scored the final four points of the first half to cut their deficit in half, 29-25, at intermission.
With the Jaspers leading 31-29 early in the second half, a Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) layup, followed by an Ondya Morgan (New Brunswick, N.J.) steal and Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) trey extended the advantage back to seven points, 36-29. However, Monmouth rallied for 12 of the next 16 points, and the Hawks took the lead for the first time, 41-40, on a three-pointer by Chevannah Paalvast with 12:53 to go.
The lead changed hands four times in the next five minutes before Monmouth used a 6-0 run to take its largest advantage of the night, 49-44, with 6:23 remaining. A Peters free throw trimmed Manhattan's deficit to four, then Roeder drained a three to make it a one-point game with five minutes left. After a Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) steal, a Morgan layup put the Jaspers back in front. Halfkenny added five consecutive points to cap an 11-0 spurt that put Manhattan up 55-49 at the 3:15 mark.
However, Monmouth responded with seven straight points, and regained the lead, 56-55, on a three-pointer by Shira Shecht with 1:19 to go. Morgan was fouled on the next Manhattan possession, and she went 1-for-2 at the line to even the score at 56-56.
It was still knotted at 56-56 when the Jaspers got an offensive rebound from Halfkenny with 30 seconds left. Manhattan, which didn't have any timeouts remaining, held for one shot, but Roeder's three was off the mark and Monmouth's Betsy Gadziala grabbed the rebound. Monmouth used its only remaining timeout with 2.3 seconds remaining. The Hawks inbounded across from the Manhattan bench and went for the "home run" pass, but the ball went out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Jaspers. However, Manhattan wasn't able to get off a good shot, and the game went into overtime.
In the extra session, it was all Jaspers. Halfkenny drained a three-pointer at the 3:24 mark, then a Peters steal on the ensuing Monmouth possession turned into an easy Roeder layup. The Jaspers led 61-59 with 1:13 left when Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) hit a wide-open Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) with a full court inbounds pass. Skrec converted the layup and was fouled. She sank the free throw to complete the three-point play, giving Manhattan a 64-59 advantage. The Jaspers then went 5-for-6 at the foul line in the final minute before Morgan finished off the 71-59 win with a fast break layup.
"We had stretches where we played great half-court defense, and I think that made the difference," Olenowski said. "The defense kept us in their way and the steals were critical. Defense was certainly the key to our victory tonight."
The Jaspers had a season-high 18 steals and forced 27 Monmouth turnovers, which they converted into 33 points.
Roeder tallied a game-high 17 points to lead four Jaspers in double figures. Halfkenny finished with 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Peters had 11 points and five steals. Morgan made her first collegiate start and posted career-highs with 10 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes of action. Loutsenhizer came off the bench on Saturday and recorded seven points, five boards and five assists. As a team, the Jaspers shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the field, 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from downtown and 84.2 percent (16-of-19) at the charity stripe.
Betsy Gadziala led the Hawks with 16 points. She also had six rebounds and three assists. Abby Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Carly Thibault registered nine points, six boards and four steals. Alexis Canady distributed a game-high seven assists for Monmouth. The Hawks shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the field and outrebounded the Jaspers 32-30. Monmouth shot 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from three-point land and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) at the free throw line.
Manhattan continues its five-match homestand on Tuesday night, when Cornell (2-5) comes to Draddy Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. contest. The Jaspers and Big Red are meeting for the third consecutive year, and the visiting team has won each time.
NOTES: It was the first meeting between the schools since Dec. 29, 1993...The Jaspers lead the all-time series 8-5...Manhattan went to overtime for the first time since playing two extra sessions at Canisius on Jan. 11, 2010...It was the Jaspers' first overtime victory since they beat Fairfield 66-56 in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament on March 4, 2004...Manhattan has led at halftime in both of its home games this season...This marked the first time this season that the Jaspers won a game in which they trailed at any point...The Jaspers won despite having a lower shooting percentage than their opponent and being outrebounded for the first time since knocking off Wright State in the Women's Basketball Invitational semifinals on March 20, 2011...Manhattan used a different starting lineup for the third consecutive game and the sixth time this season...Morgan entered the game with six career points, and her six assists on Saturday night were the first six of her career.
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