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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - On Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan College women's basketball team jumped out to a 17-0 lead and never looked back. The Lady Jaspers (17-6, 9-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) began a three-game homestand with their fifth straight win, a 54-42 triumph over Canisius (7-16, 3-9 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium. The five-game winning streak is Manhattan's longest since the 2002-03 season.
"It starts with the defense," Head Coach John Olenowski said about the winning streak. "When we play defense the way that we do, forcing turnovers and making it difficult for them to get open shots, we play our best basketball. And we did a really good job of that today."
Canisius missed its first 12 field goal attempts, allowing the Lady Jaspers to build their early 17-0 edge. The Griffs finally got on the board at the 9:53 mark, but Manhattan continued its offensive assault, opening up a 22-4 edge on a three-pointer by Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) with 7:48 left before halftime.
After a pair of Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) free throws put the Lady Jaspers in front 24-8, the Griffs went on a 10-0 run, getting within six on a Jamie Ruttle layup with 59 seconds remaining in the first half. However, Maggie Blair (Briarcliff, N.Y.) was fouled while attempting a three-pointer on the ensuing Manhattan possession, and she drained all three foul shots to push the lead to nine points, 27-18, at intermission.
Manhattan opened the second half on a 10-4 spurt to bring its lead back to 15 points, 37-22, but Canisius again chipped away. An Ashley Durham three-pointer capped a 13-3 rally that brought the Griffs back within five at 40-35 with 6:24 remaining. However, that's as close as Canisius would get. A jumper by Loutsenhizer started a 10-0 Manhattan run (that she finished off with a trey) over the next 3:55 to once again make it a 15-point game, 50-35, with 2:29 left. Canisius got within 10 before Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) sank a pair of free throws to cap the scoring and give the Lady Jaspers a 54-42 victory.
"We knew coming in that they (Canisius) were going to play tough," Olenowski said. "It was a gritty effort, and I thought we did a really good job of getting some key buckets and key stops."
Herrington drained four three-pointers and finished with a game-high 16 points. Loutsenhizer tallied 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Nadia Peters (Bronx, N.Y.) also fell just shy of a double-double, posting nine points and eight rebounds to go along with three assists and six steals. Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) was plagued by early foul trouble and played just 26 minutes. She recorded six points and handed out three assists. The Lady Jaspers shot 33.3 percent (17-of-51) from the field, 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from downtown, and 86.7 percent (13-of-15) at the line.
Ruttle just missed a double-double for Canisius, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds. Durham added eight points and three assists, while Micayla Drysdale had seven points, seven boards, four assists and four steals. The Griffs shot 28.8 percent (15-of-52) from the field and outrebounded the Lady Jaspers 41-33. Canisius shot just 19 percent (4-of-21) from three-point range and 80 percent (8-of-10) at the charity stripe.
The Lady Jaspers continue their homestand on Saturday, when they host Saint Peter's (3-20, 3-9 MAAC) at 2 p.m. on "Pack the House Day." There will be prizes and giveaways for all students in attendance.
NOTES: Manhattan swept the season series with Canisius for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign, and has won three straight against the Griffs...Canisius leads the all-time series 28-20...The last time Manhattan won five straight games, the Lady Jaspers put together a program-record 13-game winning streak from Jan. 7-Feb. 21, 2003...Manhattan is allowing just 43.4 points per game during the streak...The Lady Jaspers held their opponent under 50 points for the 15th time this season...Peters had six steals for the second time in three games...Including the 25-0 run in the second half of the first meeting, Manhattan held Canisius scoreless for more than 20:00 of game time, outscoring the Griffs 42-0 during that span...The Lady Jaspers played a home game on Super Bowl Sunday for the first time in four years...It was "National Girls and Women In Sports Day" at Draddy Gymnasium, celebrating the contributions of women in athletics.
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