Box Score
QUEENS, N.Y. - After dismantling St. Francis (NY) 63-34 in its season opener last Friday night, the Manhattan College women's basketball team knew it would face a much tougher test against No. 20/23 St. John's on Tuesday. Despite a solid effort, the Lady Jaspers (1-1) dropped a 77-51 decision to the Red Storm (2-1) at Carnesecca Arena.
St. John's scored the first eight points of the game and led 21-8 before a three-pointer by Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.), followed by a Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) rebound and putback brought the Lady Jaspers back within eight, 21-13, with 8:52 left in the first half. However, the Red Storm ended the half on a 19-6 run and took a 40-19 advantage into the locker room.
The Red Storm extended their lead to 26 points, 52-26, with 15:21 remaining, but a Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) trey on the other end ignited a 9-4 Manhattan run that trimmed the Lady Jaspers' deficit to 56-35 at the 11:47 mark. The Lady Jaspers pulled within 20 when a jumper by Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) made it 61-41 with 8:17 to go, but St. John's quickly responded with seven straight points. The Red Storm's lead reached a game-high 29 points, 77-48, with 1:39 left before a Herrington trey accounted for the final margin.
"We played much better in the second half," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "We executed our offense a little better and hit more of our shots. St. John's is a quick team, and they played great defense. I'm proud of our squad, but tonight we lost to a great basketball team."
Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) paced the Lady Jaspers with 14 points. She added four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Loutsenhizer finished with 11 points and a team-high six rebounds, while Herrington chipped in nine points off the bench. Manhattan shot 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the field, 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from three-point range, and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) at the charity stripe.
Shennika Smith registered a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds for the Red Storm. She also had three blocks. Centhya Hart added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Sky Lindsay tallied 12 points and four boards. Eugeneia McPherson chipped in 11 points off the bench for St. John's. Da'Shena Stevens grabbed eight rebounds to go along with four steals, and Nadirah McKenith posted nine assists and four steals. As a team, the Red Storm recorded 19 assists and outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 44-33. St. John's shot 52.5 percent (31-of-59) from the field, including 50 percent (5-of-10) from downtown, and 47.6 percent (10-of-21) at the line.
Up next, Manhattan opens its home schedule with a matchup against the University at Albany (2-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday from Draddy Gymnasium. The contest will be the start of a four-game homestand for the Lady Jaspers.
NOTES: St. John's has won all 12 meetings between the schools...The last time the squads met at Carnesecca Arena was 13 years ago to the day...It was Manhattan's first game against a ranked opponent since the Lady Jaspers visited No. 14/18 Virginia on Nov. 15, 2009...St. John's and MAAC champion Marist are the only teams that qualified for the 2010 NCAA Tournament on Manhattan's schedule...Manhattan used its second different lineup of the season, with Loutsenhizer replacing Blair in the starting five...With three treys, Herrington moved into sole possession of fourth place on Manhattan's all-time list for career three-point field goals...Ondya Morgan (New Brunswick, N.J.) recorded her first career steal in the game.
To follow Manhattan Athletics on Twitter, go to twitter.com/GoJaspers or visit Manhattan's Facebook fan page.
