Box Score
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - A free throw by Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) gave the Manhattan College women's basketball team a one-point lead with 32 seconds to play, then, following a defensive stop, a Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) foul shot with three seconds left iced a 59-57 victory for the Lady Jaspers (12-11, 7-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) over Saint Peter's (9-14, 5-7 MAAC) at the Yanitelli Center on Monday night.
The Peahens had a chance to take the lead after Pacheco's free throw, but Quiana Porter missed a layup with 4.4 seconds remaining. The rebound went out of bounds to Saint Peter's, then, after each team called a timeout, Porter was called for an offensive foul on the inbounds play. Loutsenhizer was fouled immediately and made 1-of-2 at the line, and the Peahens' last-ditch attempt at the game-winning three fell short, giving Manhattan the victory.
"We did a very good job defensively to force them into an awkward shot, and then played really strong defense on the inbounds play to draw the offensive foul. After that, we did a good job of getting the ball inbounds and protecting it to get fouled," Head Coach John Olenowski said. "Overall, I'm very pleased with the way the girls gutted out this win, and I'm proud of each and every one of them."
Saint Peter's led throughout a very closely contested first half. The Peahens scored four straight points to break a 19-19 tie, but Manhattan climbed back to pull within one, 24-23, with 3:37 remaining in the period. However, Natasha Morris responded with a jumper and a three-pointer to push the Peahens' lead to six points, 29-23, with 2:48 left in the first half. After another Morris trey made it 33-27 in favor of Saint Peter's, a conventional three-point play by Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) trimmed Manhattan's deficit to three, 33-30, at halftime. Despite making just six field goals in the opening 20 minutes, the Lady Jaspers kept it close by going 17-for-21 at the free throw line in the first half.
After the Peahens extended their advantage to five points, 38-33, early in the second half, the Lady Jaspers responded with a 6-0 rally to take their first lead of the game, 39-38, with 14:15 remaining. The Manhattan advantage was short-lived however, as Saint Peter's scored on its next two possessions to go back in front, 42-39.
Saint Peter's pushed its lead back to four points when an offensive rebound and putback by Porter made it 50-46 with 8:39 to go, but another 6-0 Manhattan rally gave the lead back to the Lady Jaspers, 52-50. Morris hit a jumper on the other end to tie the game at 52-52 before Manhattan regained the lead on an Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) free throw, then extended the advantage on a Pacheco jumper. Saint Peter's rallied back to force a 57-57 tie with 1:18 to play, setting up the furious final minute.
Loutsenhizer notched 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half. She also grabbed five rebounds. Pacheco, who was named MAAC Co-Player of the Week earlier on Monday, finished with 14 points and six assists, while Wentworth tallied nine points, five rebounds and four steals. Peters added seven points, five boards, four steals and two blocks. Manhattan shot 35.7 percent (15-of-42) from the field and 30 percent (3-of-10) from downtown. The Lady Jaspers tied their season-highs for free throws made and attempted, going 26-for-35 (74.3 percent) at the line.
Saint Peter's was led by Morris and Jessica Coles, who tallied 14 points apiece. Coles also had six rebounds. Porter finished with 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds, as the Peahens outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 33-25. Jynae Judson registered 10 points and handed out seven assists. Saint Peter's shot 48.9 percent from the field, but went just 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) from three-point range. The Peahens shot 69.2 percent (9-of-13) at the charity stripe.
The victory, coupled with Niagara's win over Loyola, sets up a showdown between the Lady Jaspers and Purple Eagles (10-13, 7-5 MAAC) for third place in the MAAC on Saturday afternoon. The contest, which is Manhattan's "Pink Zone" game for breast cancer awareness, gets underway at 2 p.m. at Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan knocked off Niagara 70-54 on Jan. 9.
NOTES: Manhattan swept the season series with Saint Peter's for the second time in three years and has four of the last six meetings with the Peahens...Saint Peter's leads the all-time series 50-18...It was Manhattan's first victory this season when trailing at halftime...Manhattan won when scoring fewer than 60 points for the second time this season and improved to 11-1 when giving up less than 60...The Lady Jaspers moved above .500 for the first time since they were 2-1 on Nov. 22...Manhattan moved a season-high two games above .500 in MAAC play and equaled last season's conference win total...Loutsenhizer tallied 20 points for the fourth time this season...With six assists, Pacheco moved into seventh place on Manhattan's all-time list with 293 career assists...Monday night was Saint Peter's "Pink Zone" game.
