Box Score
Click here to view the 2011-12 Manhattan Women's Basketball Yearbook
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - On a night when the offense struggled, the Manhattan College women's basketball team won a game with its defense on Wednesday. The Jaspers (5-6) converted 30 St. Francis (NY) turnovers into 23 points to notch a 50-37 triumph over the Terriers (1-12) at Draddy Gymnasium. It was Manhattan's third straight victory.
"The defense really came through," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "Every time we needed a big stop, we got one. We struggled on the offensive end, but defense wins big games, and we're happy with our defensive effort."
The Manhattan defense forced 20 St. Francis (NY) turnovers in the first half, and the Jaspers held the Terriers to four points in a seven-minute span midway through the period. However, St. Francis (NY) trailed by just four after Jasmin Robinson's three-pointer made it 20-16 at the 5:20 mark. Manhattan responded with a 7-0 run, getting a layup from Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.), a trey from Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) (who had 12 first half points), and a Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) jumper, to increase its advantage to 11 points, 27-16, with 2:41 left before halftime. The Jaspers took a 28-18 lead into the locker room.
Manhattan's lead reached a game-high 16 points when a steal and coast-to-coast layup by Peters made it 35-19 with 12:50 remaining, but St. Francis (NY) kept it tight. The Terriers used a 12-6 run to trim their deficit to 10 points, 41-31, then pulled within seven at 44-37 on a pair of free throws by Stefanie Bingham with 1:57 remaining. After Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) sank a pair of foul shots to bring the lead back to nine, the Terriers' Sarah Benedetti missed a three-pointer and the rebound went out-of-bounds to Manhattan. On the ensuing possession, the Jaspers ran the shot clock all the way down before Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) sank a three-pointer from right in front of the Manhattan bench. Roeder added a free throw with 21 seconds left to finish off the Jaspers' 50-37 victory.
Loutsenhizer had her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. She also tied a season-high with five steals. Peters added 10 points and six boards to go along with three blocks, three steals and two assists. Roeder finished with eight points, six rebounds and three steals, while Lawrence tallied six points and three steals. Allison Skrec (Roselle, N.J.) handed out three assists. Six different Jaspers collected at least three steals, as Manhattan recorded a season-high 23 takeaways as a team. Overall, the Jaspers shot 30.5 percent (18-of-59) from the floor, 20 percent (4-of-20) from downtown, and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) at the charity stripe.
Bingham was the only Terrier in double-figures with 12 points. Robinson added eight points and Ozana Margenian contributed seven points for St. Francis (NY). Katie Fox recorded seven rebounds to go along with two assists and three steals, while Benedetti and Jaymee Veney each grabbed six rebounds. The Terriers outrebounded the Jaspers 38-35 and shot 31.7 percent (13-of-41) from the field. St. Francis (NY) was held to just 18.8 percent (3-of-16) shooting from three-point range and went 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) at the free throw line.
The Jaspers conclude non-conference play on Friday night, when Sacred Heart (9-2) comes to Riverdale for a 7 p.m. matchup. Last season, Manhattan and Sacred Heart met in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI), and the Jaspers ended the Pioneers' 2010-11 season with a 52-48 victory.
NOTES: The Jaspers beat the Terriers for the fourth consecutive season and have now won 14 straight against St. Francis (NY)...Manhattan holds a 14-1 edge in the all-time series...Each of the last three meetings between the squads had been in the season opener...Loutsenhizer's other double-double this season was a 16-point, 14-rebound effort at NJIT on Nov. 27...She fouled out for the first time since Jan. 31, 2010, a span of 53 games...The Jaspers held their opponent under 40 points for the first time since a 55-30 victory at Canisius on Jan. 28, 2011...Manhattan has allowed fewer than 40 points five times in Olenowski's tenure, with three of those games coming against St. Francis (NY)...Manhattan's previous season-high was 18 steals in the 71-59 overtime win against Monmouth on Dec. 17...Manhattan forced 30 turnovers for the first time since Elon committed 34 on Dec. 1, 2009...The Jaspers didn't have a shot blocked for the first time this season.
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