Box Score
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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The winningest season in Manhattan College women's basketball history came to an end on Thursday night, as the Lady Jaspers (24-10) suffered a 62-43 defeat against UAB (19-15) in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) at Draddy Gymnasium. Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) led Manhattan with 16 points, including the 1,000th of her career, and seven rebounds.
The contest started off in a back-and-forth fashion, as there were six lead changes in the first 12 minutes. Manhattan used a 7-2 run to turn an 11-10 deficit into a 17-13 lead, but UAB responded with a 13-2 rally to pull in front by seven, 26-19, with 5:49 left in the first half. After Monica Roeder (Marlton, N.J.) hit a trey to pull the Lady Jaspers within four, the Blazers got three-pointers from Amber Jones and LaShaunda Pratt pushed their lead back to double-digits, 32-22.
UAB took a 32-24 advantage into the locker room, then came out on fire in the second half. The Blazers scored the first 13 points of the period to open up a 21-point advantage, 45-24. However, the Lady Jaspers rallied for the next seven points, trimming their deficit to 14 when Loutsenhizer's layup made it 45-31 at the 15:17 mark.
That's as close as Manhattan would get the rest of the way, though. Amanda Peterson sank a trey on the next UAB possession, as the Blazers extended the margin back to 21 points, 55-34, with 11:28 remaining. Loutsenhizer reached 1,000 on a three from the left wing right in front of the Manhattan bench with 8:48 left. Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) hit a free throw (the last of her 1,076 career points) to get the Lady Jaspers back within 15 at 58-43 at the 3:07 mark, and she was pulled to a standing ovation with less than a minute remaining. UAB then recorded the final four points of the game to wrap up a 62-43 victory.
Loutsenhizer went 4-for-4 from three-point range, including the shot that got her over 1,000. Roeder chipped in 10 points and seven boards, as the Lady Jaspers outrebounded the Blazers 31-29. Wentworth recorded seven points and four assists in her final collegiate game, while Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) tallied six rebounds and four steals. As a team, Manhattan shot 35.6 percent (16-of-45) from the field, 40 percent (6-of-15) from beyond the arc, and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) at the free throw line.
Peterson drained seven three-pointers and finished with a game-high 21 points for UAB, which advanced to face Cal State Bakersfield (22-11) in Sunday's WBI Championship Game. Peterson also handed out three assists. Jones went 5-for-6 from downtown and tallied 19 points for the Blazers. Karisma Chapman added 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals off the bench, as UAB forced 19 Manhattan turnovers. Destiny Samuels also grabbed nine rebounds. UAB shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the field, including a scorching 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from three-point land, and 57.1 percent (4-of-7) at the charity stripe.
The 24 victories this season established a new school record, breaking the old mark of 20 wins set in 1986-87 and 2002-03. Manhattan also made the fifth national postseason appearance in program history, the first since the 2003 NCAA Tournament, and won a pair of postseason games for the first time.
NOTES: It was the second all-time meeting between the schools, and UAB has won both matchups...The 34 games played this season were a school record...Wentworth finished her career as Manhattan's all-time leader with 121 games played...She also broke a tie with Assistant Coach Caitlin Flood for second place all-time with her 108th career start...Wentworth is fourth on the Lady Jaspers' all-time steals chart (235) and eighth all-time in assists (299)...Loutsenhizer and Wentworth became the first Manhattan teammates to get to 1,000 points in the same season since Rosalee Mason and Tiffany Schettig both reached the mark during the 2002-03 campaign...Five of the 19 1,000-point scorers in program history (including the last four) were at the game-Loutsenhizer, Wentworth, Flood, Kelly Regan and Marianne Reilly, Manhattan's first 1,000-point scorer.
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