Box Score
JERSEY CITY, N.J. ? After trailing by eight with little more than five minutes remaining, the Manhattan College women's basketball team (9-19, 6-11 MAAC) stormed back and had a chance to tie it in the final minute before ultimately falling one point short, 56-55, against Saint Peter's (12-13, 10-7 MAAC) at the Yanitelli Center on Monday night.
Saint Peter's led 51-43 after Alena Ali drained a three-pointer with 5:24 remaining, but Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) started Manhattan's comeback with a trey on the other end. The Peahens made it 53-46 on a Charlene Riddick layup before Kelly Regan (Williamsville, N.Y.) hit back-to-back jumpers to pull the Lady Jaspers within three at 53-50 with 3:53 left. After a layup by Tania Kennedy brought Saint Peter's lead back to five points, Laura Rivera (Elmont, N.Y.) sank a pair of free throws to make it 55-52 with 2:43 to go.
The score remained 55-52 into the final minute. After a Sakara House turnover gave Manhattan the ball back with 38 seconds left, the Lady Jaspers missed the potential game-tying three. Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) corralled the offensive rebound and Manhattan Head Coach Myndi Hill called her final timeout. However, the Lady Jaspers never got a shot off, turning the ball back over to the Peahens with eight seconds left. Kennedy was fouled immediately and made the first free throw before missing the second intentionally. Herrington hit a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining, but the Lady Jaspers ran out of time and fell, 56-55, to a Saint Peter's team that has now won seven in a row.
Manhattan scored the first seven points of the contest and led for most of the first half. The Lady Jaspers' advantage reached a game-high eight points when Annie McIntyre (Portland, Ore.) hit a jumper to make it 15-7 with 8:27 left in the first half. Saint Peter's responded with a 9-0 run to take a one-point lead before a Loutsenhizer layup put the Lady Jaspers back in front. Kennedy hit a three-pointer to give the Peahens back the lead, and Saint Peter's led 29-24 at halftime.
The Lady Jaspers opened the second half on a 7-2 run to force a 31-31 tie at the 17:17 mark, but Saint Peter's scored 11 of the next 15 points to go up 42-35 with 12:46 remaining. A Manhattan timeout sparked a 6-0 rally that got the Lady Jaspers within one at 42-41 before the Peahens countered with a 6-0 run of their own to run their lead back to seven points, 48-41. After a Regan layup, Ali's trey gave the Peahens their game-high eight-point advantage.
Regan led the Lady Jaspers with 16 points and added six rebounds. She also tied a career-high with three blocks. Herrington drained four three-pointers for 12 points, and also tallied four rebounds, three steals and a team-high three assists. Loutsenhizer had eight points to go along with a team-high 11 rebounds, while Rivera notched a career-high with four steals. Manhattan shot 37 percent (17-of-46) from the field, 25 percent (4-of-16) from three-point range, and 85 percent (17-of-20) at the free throw line.
Riddick recorded a double-double for the Peahens with 18 points and 11 rebounds. She also registered five steals. Kennedy posted 13 points and three assists, while Ali had 12 points off the bench. House notched eight points, five assists and three steals. The Peahens outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 39-34 and scored 27 points off 22 Manhattan turnovers. Saint Peter's shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the field, including 60 percent (3-of-5) from downtown, and 65 percent (13-of-20) at the charity stripe.
The loss, coupled with Rider's 51-46 win at Fairfield, guarantees that Manhattan will be the No. 8 seed in the MAAC Tournament and face No. 9 Loyola in the first round on Thursday, March 5. The Lady Jaspers conclude the regular season with a 2 p.m. matchup against Fairfield on Saturday. Seniors McIntyre and Regan will be honored before the game, and there will be a special halftime ceremony celebrating the program's 30th anniversary.
NOTES: Saint Peter's is the most common opponent in program history...The Peahens lead the all-time series 50-16...The contest was the Peahens' “Pink Zone” game for breast cancer awareness...Manhattan used its 13th different starting lineup of the season, with Loutsenhizer replacing Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) in the starting five...Regan, who was named MAAC Co-Player of the Week earlier on Monday, moved past Leigh Ann Walker into 14th place on Manhattan's all-time career scoring list...With 67 treys this season, Herrington moved into third place on Manhattan's single-season three-pointers list...Manhattan lost for the first time this season when shooting better than its opponent...The Lady Jaspers finished their road schedule with a 6-10 record away from Draddy Gymnasium, including a 4-5 mark in MAAC road games.
