Manhattan Concludes Road Trip at Fairfield

Manhattan-Fairfield Game Notes

TODAY'S GAME
The top two defensive teams in the MAAC square off this afternoon, as Manhattan (11-5, 3-2 MAAC) wraps up its three-game road trip with a visit to Fairfield (10-5, 3-2 MAAC).  The Lady Jaspers enter the contest looking to extend three-game winning streak, and are coming off a 71-43 victory at Rider on Thursday afternoon.  Fairfield has dropped two straight, including a 54-52 loss at Loyola on Friday.  Both teams rank in the top four nationally in scoring defense.

THE LADY JASPERS
The Lady Jaspers (11-5, 3-2 MAAC), who conclude a three-gmae road trip this afternoon, have won three straight.  Manhattan is coming off a 71-43 win at Rider on Thursday afternoon.  Senior guard Abby Wentworth had 24 points against Rider and leads the Lady Jaspers with 14.4 points per game.  She also paces the squad in assists (4.3 apg) and steals (3.3 spg) and ranks third on the team in rebounding (4.7 rpg).  Junior forward Lindsey Loutsenhizer ranks second on the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 8.7 points and 5.1 boards per contest.  Junior forward Nadia Peters contributes 6.3 points to go along with a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game.  She also ranks second in the MAAC with 1.6 blocks per outing.  After playing four games in nine days, the Lady Jaspers are off until Saturday, when they take on five-time defending MAAC champion Marist at Draddy Gymnasium.

THE STAGS
After winning its first three conference games, Fairfield (10-5, 3-2 MAAC) has dropped its last two, including a 54-52 loss at Loyola on Friday.  Sophomore guard Katelyn Linney paces the Stags with 13.3 points per game.  She also drains a MAAC-leading 2.7 three-pointers per game and is shooting .404 from downtown.  Junior forward Taryn Johnson averages 11.4 points and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds per game.  She also leads the Stags in steals (2.7 spg) and tallies a MAAC-best 1.7 blocks per game.  Junior guard Desiree Pina contributes 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds to go along with a team-high 2.7 assists per game.  Senior guard Joelle Nawrocki adds 8.0 points and 2.3 assists per outing.  The quartet has started all 15 games for Fairfield.  As a team, Fairfield ranks second in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 48.2 points per game.  The Stags continue their three-game homestand against Canisius and Niagara next weekend.

SERIES HISTORY
Manhattan has faced Fairfield more than any other opponent in program history.  Today's game is the 71st all-time meeting between the schools, and the Stags lead the series 36-34.  However, Manhattan has won each of the last three meetings, including both matchups last year.  The Lady Jaspers notched a 69-53 victory in Riverdale on Jan. 18, 2010, then posted a 64-57 win at Alumni Hall less than a week later.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME
Abby Wentworth finished with 24 points, one shy of her career-high, to lead the Lady Jaspers to their third straight win, a 71-43 victory over Rider at Alumni Gymnasium on Thursday.  Manhattan got off to a slow start offensively, allowing Rider to take an early 7-2 lead.  However, a Wentworth trey midway through the first half ignited a 15-8 Manhattan run that put the Lady Jaspers ahead for good, 27-18.  Manhattan led 32-23 at halftime, then went on a 12-2 run early in the second half to extend their advantage to 19 points, 44-25.  The lead reached 20 on a Nadia Peters layup made it 60-39, and the Lady Jaspers pulled away late for the 28-point victory.  Peters tallied 10 points, while Lindsey Loutsenhizer notched nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.