Box Score
DURHAM, N.H. - The Manhattan College women's basketball team trimmed a 16-point deficit to two early in the second half on Friday night, but New Hampshire (4-4) refused to let the Jaspers (2-6) pull any closer en route to a 57-42 victory at Lundholm Gymnasium. It was Manhattan's third straight defeat.
Manhattan was held scoreless for the first 7:47 of the contest, allowing New Hampshire to build a 9-0 lead. The Wildcats extended their advantage to 16 points, 27-11, at the 3:31 mark before an Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) three-pointer, followed by a steal and layup from Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) made it an 11-point game, 27-16. Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) then added a jumper to cut Manhattan's deficit to eight, 29-21, with 1:13 left in the first half, and New Hampshire led 33-23 at intermission.
Once the teams came back out for the second half, Manhattan seized the momentum. The Jaspers scored eight points in less than two minutes to open the half, and Manhattan got back within two when a Halfkenny layup made it 33-31 with 16:13 remaining. However, Cari Reed immediately countered with a layup that started a 16-0 New Hampshire run over the next 6:30, pushing the Wildcats' advantage to a game-high 18 points, 49-31, midway through the second half.
However, Manhattan once again rallied back. After a Halfkenny jumper, Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) converted a steal into two points. A layup on the other end made the score 51-35 in favor of the Wildcats before buckets from Halfkenny and Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.), then a Blair trey brought the Jaspers back within nine, 51-42, with 1:41 to play. It would get no closer the rest of the way, though, as New Hampshire didn't miss a free throw all night. The Wildcats went 6-for-6 at the line over the final 1:37 to ice a 57-42 victory.
Halfkenny had eight of her team-high 10 points in the second half. Blair contributed nine points, four assists and three steals, while Peters grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with six points and three steals. Loutsenhizer added six points, five boards and three assists, and Herrington tallied six points, three assists and four steals in 25 minutes off the bench. Manhattan shot 26.5 percent (18-of-68) as a team, including just 15.4 percent (4-of-26) from three-point land and 40 percent (2-of-5) at the charity stripe.
Denise Beliveau recorded a double-double for the Wildcats, notching game-highs of 17 points and 14 rebounds. She also distributed three assists. Kelsey Hogan added 14 points and three assists, while Reed had seven points, six rebounds and two blocks. New Hampshire shot 48.8 percent (20-of-41) from the field and outrebounded Manhattan 41-31. The Wildcats shot 25 percent (4-of-16) from long distance and went a perfect 13-for-13 at the free throw line.
After playing seven of their first eight games away from Draddy Gymnasium, the Jaspers won't hit the road again until conference play. Manhattan has eight days off for finals before beginning a five-game homestand against Monmouth (2-6) on Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.
NOTES: This was the first meeting between the squads in Durham since Nov. 22, 2002...The all-time series is now tied 3-3...The Jaspers used their third different starting lineup in as many games, with Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) returning to the starting five after coming off the bench at Lafayette...Loutsenhizer moved into 14th place on Manhattan's all-time scoring list with 1,106 career points...Peters reached double-digits in rebounds for the second straight game...The 26 three-point attempts were a season-high, and the 68 shots tied a season-high...Manhattan forced 25 New Hampshire turnovers...New Hampshire was the sixth different state Manhattan has played in this season.
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