BALTIMORE - The Manhattan College women's basketball team trimmed a 22-point deficit to 11 with four minutes remaining on Friday evening, but the Lady Jaspers (7-9, 2-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) were unable to push any closer, as Loyola (9-7, 4-1 MAAC) notched a 74-57 victory at Reitz Arena. Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) tallied a career-high 22 points to lead the Lady Jaspers.
Loyola established control of the game early on and never trailed. A Devon Carey three-pointer put the Greyhounds up 10-1 less than four minutes into the game, but Manhattan rallied for six of the next eight points, pulling within five when a Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) layup made it 12-7 with 14:17 left in the first half. That's as close as Manhattan would get the rest of the way, however. After Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) hit a pair of free throws to cut Loyola's lead to eight, 24-16, at the 6:00 mark, the Greyhounds went on a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to make it a 20-point game, 36-16. Loyola shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field in the first half and led 40-24 at intermission.
Manhattan scored the first six points of the second half to get back within 10, but a Miriam McKenzie trey on the other end pushed the Greyhounds' lead back to 13 points, 43-30. The Lady Jaspers scored the next three points to again trim their deficit to 10 before Loyola went on a 19-7 run to open up its largest lead of the game, a 62-40 advantage with 10:29 remaining.
After a McKenzie layup put the Greyhounds in front 66-44, Manhattan began its comeback in earnest with a Wentworth free throw. That foul shot sparked a 13-2 Manhattan run over the next five minutes, and the Lady Jaspers got within 11 when Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) hit a pair at the line to make it 68-57 with 4:09 remaining. McKenzie sank a layup out of a timeout to push Loyola's lead back to 13 points, and the Greyhounds scored the final six points of the contest. Manhattan was held scoreless over the final 4:09, as Loyola notched a 74-57 victory.
Loutsenhizer posted six rebounds to go along with her game-high 22 points, while Pacheco played all 40 minutes and finished with 19 points, five boards, three assists and four steals. Peters contributed nine points and Wentworth grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. As a team, Manhattan shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor, but the Lady Jaspers were an uncharacteristic 1-for-8 (12.5 percent) from downtown and 16-for-25 (64 percent) at the free throw line.
McKenzie recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Greyhounds. She added five assists and three steals. Erica DeClemente posted 13 points and three assists, while Kaitlin Grant had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench. Loyola shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the field and outrebounded Manhattan 44-33. The Greyhounds outscored the Lady Jaspers 24-3 from long range, knocking down eight treys and shooting 32 percent (8-of-25) from beyond the arc. Loyola shot 75 percent (12-of-16) at the charity stripe.
The contest concluded Manhattan's season-long three-game road trip. The Lady Jaspers return to Draddy Gymnasium on Monday for a 2 p.m. matinee against Fairfield (8-7, 2-2 MAAC). Manhattan knocked off Fairfield 67-56 in last year's regular season finale at Draddy Gymnasium.
NOTES: It was Loyola's second straight victory over the Lady Jaspers...Manhattan leads the all-time series 22-20...The loss snapped Manhattan's two-game winning streak at Reitz Arena...Loutsenhizer's previous career-high was 19 points, which she set three times, including in Monday's double overtime loss at Canisius...Pacheco tallied at least 19 points for the fifth time this season...The game was nationally televised by ESPNU, marking Manhattan's first appearance on national television since an 82-57 victory over Iona on Feb. 15, 2008 that was also broadcast by ESPNU.