Box Score
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Despite suffering its first loss to the season, the Manhattan College women's basketball team learned that it can play with the big girls on Sunday afternoon. And that lesson will serve the Lady Jaspers well in the future. Manhattan (1-1) hung with No. 14/18 Virginia (2-0) for a while, but the Cavaliers proved too strong in the end, posting an 86-68 victory at John Paul Jones Arena. Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) had a career-high 22 points, including six three-pointers, to lead the Lady Jaspers.
"I thought we played really hard throughout," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "I'm extremely proud of our effort today. This game will go a long way in helping us achieve our goals."
Virginia quickly jumped out to an 8-2 lead barely three minutes into the game, but Manhattan rallied back with an 8-2 run of its own, and tied the score at 10-10 on Abby Wentworth's (Portland, Maine) jumper with 14:11 remaining in the first half. The Cavaliers responded with a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 22-10 advantage. After a pair of Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) free throws made it 27-15 in favor of Virginia, the Cavaliers rattled off 11 straight points to take their largest lead of the half, a 38-15 advantage with 2:28 left before halftime. Herrington hit back-to-back treys on Manhattan's next two possessions to get herself going and spark an 8-2 rally that pulled the Lady Jaspers within 17, 40-23, at the break.
Manhattan got back within 12 after three-pointers by Wentworth and Herrington made it 52-40 Virginia 4:31 into the second half. The Cavaliers responded with a 7-1 run capped by a three-pointer from Preseason All-American Monica Wright that brought their lead back to 18 points at 59-41. However, the Lady Jaspers once again responded, scoring eight of the next 10 points to get back within 12, 61-49, on a Wentworth free throw at the 9:15 mark.
"When we cut it to 12 midway through the second half, I really felt that we had a great shot at a huge upset," Olenowski said.
However, Wright had other ideas. She scored 10 points during a 15-2 Virginia run that pushed the Cavaliers' lead back to 25 points at 76-51 with 4:55 left to play. After Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) was fouled while shooting a three-pointer, she made all three free throws to ignite a 9-0 Manhattan run that got the Lady Jaspers back within 16 at 76-60. That's as close as Manhattan would get, however, and a layup by Simone Egwu with 16 seconds left wrapped up Virginia's 18-point, 86-68 victory.
Herrington finished with five rebounds and three steals to go along with her 22 points, while Pacheco notched 15 points and added eight assists for the Lady Jaspers. Wentworth contributed 11 points, five rebounds and three assists for Manhattan, and Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) grabbed a team-high six rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Manhattan shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from downtown, and 63.2 percent (12-of-19) at the free throw line.
Wright, the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, tallied 31 points, including 25 in the second half, for Virginia. She added four assists and five steals. Egwu just missed a double-double for the Cavaliers, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Chelsea Shine chipped in eight points, eight boards and two steals. All 12 players on Virginia's roster scored, and the Cavaliers outrebounded the undersized Lady Jaspers 46-29. Virginia shot 52.2 percent (35-of-67) from the field, but was held to 8.3 percent (1-of-12) shooting from three-point land. The Cavailers went 15-for-21 (71.4 percent) at the charity stripe.
The Lady Jaspers now have a week off before returning to action. Maryland Eastern Shore (0-1) visits Draddy Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. showdown on Sunday, Nov. 22. Manhattan is 1-0 all-time against Maryland Eastern Shore, but hasn't played the Lady Hawks since the 1991-92 season.
NOTES: This was the second all-time meeting between Manhattan and Virginia...The Cavaliers posted a 100-55 victory in the only previous meeting, which came in the first round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament...The last time Manhattan took on a ranked opponent was on Feb. 24, 2008, when No. 23 Marist defeated the Lady Jaspers 71-61...Herrington's previous career high was 18 points at Hofstra on Nov. 25, 2008...The Lady Jaspers have held their two opponents to 9.1 percent (3-of-33) shooting from three-point range...Excluding Wright, Manhattan held Virginia to 19 points in the second half...Assistant Coach Sonia Burke celebrated her birthday on Sunday...Sterling, Va., native Karita Brown had approximately 15 family members and friends in attendance...Nicole Harrison, who transferred from Manhattan to Virginia following last season, was also at the game.
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