Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) sank a trio of three-pointers in the first 2:30 of the game and finished with a career-high 18 points, as the Manhattan College women's basketball team (3-2) led wire-to-wire in a 62-48 victory over NJIT (1-5) at Draddy Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
"I just got into the game and was really focused," Blair said. "We knew we had to get another win here after the win against Columbia the other day, so we wanted to get on a roll. I knew we needed to come out strong and start the energy off the right way."
"Maggie has been playing so well," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "Tonight she was spectacular. She's been working so hard, and it's so nice to see her get a little reward this evening."
Blair's early treys gave the Lady Jaspers a 9-3 lead before NJIT trimmed its deficit to 12-8 with 13:09 left in the first half. However, Manhattan responded with a 12-0 run over the next 7:45 to push its advantage back to 16 points at 24-8. The Highlanders scored 10 of the next 11 points to get back within seven before a Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) layup brought the Lady Jaspers' lead back to nine, 27-18, at intermission.
NJIT pulled within six early in the second half, but an 8-2 Manhattan spurt capped by Abby Wentworth's (Portland, Maine) conventional three-point play pushed the margin back to 12 points, 38-26, with 15:51 remaining. The lead reached 15 when Wentworth found Blair for a layup on an inbounds play to make it 49-34 at the 9:03 mark, but the Highlanders gradually chipped away. After a pair of free throws by NJIT's Rayven Johnson trimmed the lead to six, 54-48, with 1:21 left, the Highlanders were forced to foul to stop the clock. The Lady Jaspers converted all eight of their free throw attempts in the final minute to cap the 64-48 victory.
"It was a tough victory," Olenowski said. "We had to really work hard, especially in the second half, to build a lead, but I really liked our composure at the end and I think we did a really good job defensively throughout."
Blair led three Lady Jaspers in double figures, as Wentworth tallied 16 points and Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) notched 10 points. Wentworth finished just shy of a double-double, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds to go along with a career-high six assists and three steals. Overall, the Lady Jaspers outrebounded the Highlanders 39-38. Peters added seven boards, two blocks and four steals, while Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) contributed eight points and eight rebounds off the bench. Manhattan shot 32 percent (16-for-50) from the field, 33.3 percent (5-for-15) from three-point land, and 80.6 percent (25-for-31) at the charity stripe.
Melanie Griffin tallied 17 points, including five three-pointers, to pace the Highlanders. Johnson finished with a double-double, posting 11 points and 11 boards. Kimberly Dweck added nine points, while Ivana Seric grabbed eight rebounds to go along with six assists and three steals. For the game, NJIT shot an identical 32 percent (16-for-50) from the field and 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from downtown. The difference was at the free throw line, where the Highlanders shot just 57.9 percent (11-for-19).
After having eight days off between games, the Lady Jaspers will now have just one day to prepare for their next contest. New Hampshire (1-4) visits Draddy Gymnasium at 7 p.m. on Friday to conclude Manhattan's four-game homestand.
NOTES: It was the first all-time meeting between the schools...Manhattan didn't trail in a game for the first time this season...The Lady Jaspers held their opponent under 50 points for the third time in the first five games...Thirteen of the Lady Jaspers' 16 field goals were assisted...Wentworth previously had five assists on six separate occasions, including the season-opening victory over St. Francis (NY) on Nov. 12...In last season's MAAC Quarterfinals, Blair had 10 points in a three-minute span against Niagara...Her previous career-high was 11 points against St. Francis (NY) in the season opener on Nov. 12...The Lady Jaspers improved to 3-0 this season with Blair in the starting lineup...The eight-day span between games represents Manhattan's third-longest layoff of the season.
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