Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Things started off well for the Manhattan College women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon, as the Lady Jaspers built an 11-point lead midway through the first half of their game against Hofstra at Draddy Gymnasium. However, Hofstra (5-3) used its superior size to chip away at the lead and eventually wear down the Lady Jaspers (4-5), as the Pride pulled away for a 73-65 victory. Michelle Pacheco (Bronx, N.Y.) posted a career-high 25 points for Manhattan.
The Lady Jaspers scored the first nine points of the game and led 21-10 after a three-pointer by Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) with 10:48 remaining in the first half. However, Manhattan would be held scoreless over the next eight minutes, allowing the Pride to go on a 13-0 run and take a 23-21 lead. Kerri White (Flushing, N.Y.) finally ended Manhattan's scoring drought with a trey that put the Lady Jaspers back in front, 24-23 with 2:23 left in the half. The sides traded the lead four times over the final 2:23 of the period, and Manhattan took a 28-27 advantage into the locker room after a Pacheco layup with 34 seconds to go. Pacheco had 10 points at halftime.
The back-and-forth pace continued early in the second half, as each team claimed the lead and the score was tied twice in the first 2:15 of the half. Herrington drained a pair of free throws to put the Lady Jaspers back in front, 33-31 with 15:24 remaining, but the Pride reclaimed the lead on a long three-pointer by Nicole Capurso 12 seconds later, and Hofstra never trailed again. After Hofstra increased its lead to five, 38-33, a Herrington trey and a pair of free throws by Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont, N.Y.) got Manhattan back within one with 13:14 left. A Pacheco layup made it 41-40 in favor of the Pride with 12:28 remaining, but another Capurso three-pointer ignited an 8-1 Hofstra run that increased the lead to eight points, 49-41, midway through the period.
Manhattan climbed back in it with a 12-6 run over the next 2:40, cutting its deficit to two when Pacheco's jumper made it 55-53 at the 7:01 mark. The Lady Jaspers got within three on a Herrington layup with 4:55 remaining, but a layup by Jess Fuller and a Candice Bellocchio free throw pushed Hofstra's lead back to six, 63-57 with 4:01 left. Manhattan got a bucket from Pacheco on its next possession to get back within four before Shante Evans scored five straight points for the Pride, giving Hofstra a nine-point, 68-59 lead, on a conventional three-point play at the 2:27 mark.
The Lady Jaspers trimmed their deficit to six points after Pacheco got to the line on back-to-back possessions and drained three of the four free throws. After an Abby Wentworth (Portland, Maine) steal, Manhattan Head Coach John Olenowski called timeout with 1:14 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) fired a three-pointer from the right wing that was nothing but net. Now only leading by three, Hofstra had to call timeout twice on its possession before finding Capurso for an NBA-range trey as the shot clock was expiring. She nailed the long-range bomb to increase Hofstra's lead to six, 71-65, and make it a two-possession game with 32 seconds left. Trying to drive for a layup, Pacheco had her shot blocked, and Fuller grabbed the rebound for Hofstra. Bellocchio then drained a pair of free throws to wrap up the Pride's 73-65 victory.
Pacheco, who had 15 second-half points, went 9-for-16 from the field in the contest. She also totaled five steals and three assists in the game. Herrington finished with 19 points, while Loutsenhizer tallied 13 points and a team-high six rebounds in a career-high 39 minutes of action. Wentworth grabbed four rebounds to go along with four steals. As a team, the Lady Jaspers shot 47.6 percent (20-of-42) from the field, 50 percent (6-of-12) from downtown, and 73.1 percent (19-of-26) at the charity stripe.
Evans had a double-double with 22 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for Hofstra. Sam Brigham added 15 points, five assists and three steals, while Capurso finished with 11 points. Bellocchio tallied nine points to go along with three assists, and Marie Malone recorded seven points and seven rebounds off the bench. The Pride had a distinct size advantage and used it to outrebound the Lady Jaspers 36-24, including a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass. Hofstra converted those 17 offensive boards into 19 second chance points and scored 25 points off 23 Manhattan turnovers. Hofstra shot 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the field, including 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from three-point range, and 73.3 percent (22-of-30) at the line.
Following a week off for finals, Manhattan continues its five-game homestand next Saturday at 7 p.m. against Cornell (4-3). It will be the first-ever meeting between the Lady Jaspers and Big Red.
NOTES: Hofstra defeated Manhattan for the second straight year and improved to 7-2 all-time against the Lady Jaspers...Manhattan lost after leading at halftime for the first time this season...The loss snapped the Lady Jaspers' four-game home winning streak...It was just the second Manhattan game this season decided by fewer than 16 points...Pacheco's previous career-high was 22 points at Stony Brook on Dec. 15, 2008...She had the highest single-game scoring performance for a Manhattan player since Kelly Regan tallied 29 points against Marist on Feb. 19, 2009...With three treys in the game, Herrington now has 99 career three-pointers...The men's teams from these schools met on Wednesday night, with Hofstra posting a 44-39 victory on Long Island.
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