MINNEAPOLIS, MN. -
The Manhattan College women's basketball team saw its 2011-12 season
come to an end with a 67-54 loss to Minnesota (18-17) at Williams Arena
in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) on Friday
night. It was the second straight WBI semifinal appearance for the
Jaspers (18-16).
After Minnesota took an early 8-2 lead, Lindsey Loutsenhizer (North
Huntingdon, Pa.) drained a pair of three-pointers to knot it at 8-8.
The Golden Gophers responded with an 11-0 rally to open up a 19-8
advantage with 11:52 remaining in the first half. Alyssa Herrington (Cambridge, N.Y.) nailed a trey on the next Manhattan possession, then assisted on a bucket by Schyanne Halfkenny (Hyde Park, Mass.) that pulled the Jaspers within six, 19-13, midway through the period.
Minnesota increased its cushion to 12 points at 27-15 before a Toni-Ann Lawrence (Elmont,
N.Y.) layup sparked a 13-2 run that brought the Jaspers within one,
29-28, with 1:44 left before halftime. The Golden Gophers got
back-to-back baskets from Katie Loberg to extend its lead to five,
33-28, but Halfkenny sank a three as the half expired to make it a
two-point game, 33-31, at intermission.
The sides traded
buckets early in the second half before Minnesota used a 5-0 spurt to
push its advantage to 10 points, 48-38, with 13:49 to go. However,
treys by Herrington and Loutsenhizer, followed by a Lawrence layup
brought the Jaspers back within two, 48-46, at the 11:09 mark.
Manhattan would pull no closer, though, as the Golden Gophers used a
15-3 scoring spurt to open up a 63-49 advantage with 5:08 remaining.
The Golden Gophers'
lead reached a game-high 16 points after a pair of free throws by Rachel
Banham at the 1:46 mark. Manhattan then finished out the scoring on
Herrington's fourth three-pointer of the game, as the Jaspers saw their
season end in the WBI semifinals for the second straight year with a
67-54 defeat.
"It was a great postseason run," Head Coach John Olenowski said.
"We played well in defeat tonight. We were only down two at halftime
and played hard the entire way. I'm very proud of our effort."
Playing her final
game in a Manhattan uniform, Loutsenhizer led the Jaspers with 18 points
and six rebounds. Herrington finished with 14 points and five boards
while also handing out seven assists in her final game. Halfkenny
tallied seven points, six rebounds and three assists, while Lawrence
notched four assists and three steals. As a team, the Jaspers had 20
assists on 22 made field goals. Manhattan shot 39.3 percent (22-of-56)
from the field and 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from three-point range. The
Jaspers didn't attempt a free throw.
Loberg led the
Golden Gophers with 15 points and five rebounds off the bench. Banham
added 14 points, three assists and five steals, while Kiara Buford
registered 10 points and six assists. Micaella Riche also tallied 10
points, and Kionna Kellogg recorded five rebounds. Leah Cotton
distributed five assists. Minnesota shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from
the field, 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from long distance, and 100 percent
(6-of-6) at the line.
With the win, Minnesota advanced to face Northern Iowa (19-14) in the WBI Championship Game on Sunday.