Mount St. Joseph def. Manchester, 53-50 Women's Consolation Game

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - A 10-2 burst midway through the first half gave the College of Mount St. Joseph a lead they would never relinquish, and the Lions held on to defeat Manchester College in the consolation game of the 2005 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic.

The Lions, who lost 80-53 to Albion in the semifinals on Thursday, improved to 3-8 overall on the season with the win over Manchester, a fellow member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Manchester, which lost 73-48 to Wittenberg in the semifinals, dropped to 8-3 overall.

Both teams came out cold and turnover-prone. By halftime, Manchester had as many turnovers (16) as points, while the Spartans also shot 28 percent from the field and made just 2-of-5 from the free throw line. Mount St. Joseph wasn't much better, shooting 32 percent from the field and committing 13 turnovers. But the Lions made the only three-pointer of the half and hit 5-of-6 free throws to account for the eight-point advantage.

Mount St. Joseph stretched its lead to 10 points at the 10:48 mark of the second half, but Manchester pulled to within two with a 10-2 run. The Spartans had several golden opportunities to pull even, but the key shots just refused to fall and the Lions held on down the stretch.

For the game, Manchester managed just 37 percent shooting from the field, including a 1-for-8 mark from three-point range, and Mount St. Joseph finished at 39 percent from the floor. The Spartans had a two-rebound advantage, but the Lions held a two-turnover advantage. MSJ made one more shot from the field - a three-pointer - and both team made seven shots from the free throw line.

The winners were led by Amanda Huffman with 13 points and 14 rebounds and Maria Eichhold with 10 points and four rebounds. Hoffman also finished with four steals and two assists, while Christina Marsh added a solid stats line as well, pitching in with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Manchester was paced by Stacey Wendel's 14 points and 10 points and six rebounds from Jessica Henn.