NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – Senior center Alyssa Hammond (Osgood, Ind.) tossed in a personal single-game high 16 points, leading three Manchester University players in double figures in one of two semifinal round games of the 2014 Main View Tipoff Tournament Friday, Nov. 21.
MU (1-0), winning its season opener for the second successive season, held off a determined charge from visiting Benedictine College of Illinois 57-53. The Spartans, moving into the finals of the tournament for the second straight year, battled through a hard-nosed Eagles' crew throughout the evening.
BC held as large as a six-point lead on a few occasions early on, but a 23-18 Black and Gold deficit with 18 seconds left in the first half turned into a 47-37 lead with 7:20 to play in regulation, due to a 29-14 run, much to the delight of the partisan crowd on hand at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena. Benedictine, dropping to 0-3, ebbed away at the margin and trimmed it to two (55-53) on a three-pointer by Vincenza Ranallo with four seconds left. On MU's ensuing possession, junior guard Katie Arterburn (Indianapolis, Ind.), joining Hammond in the double-figures club, caught a long in-bounds pass, was fouled and hit a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left to ice the decision.
Hammond's 16-point night, compiled due to a seven-of-16 field goal effort, and eight-rebound game led both categories. Arterburn added 11 off the bench, while senior guard Jocelyn Hamilton (Columbus, Ind.) added 10 points. Senior forward Abby Lang just missed double figures with eight points but turned in team highs in assists (four) and steals (three.).
The Spartans take aim at the tournament title Saturday, Nov. 22, facing the University of Chicago at 3 p.m. The Maroons held off a strong charge from Capital University of Ohio 74-71 in Friday's opener.
NOTES: Hammond registered her 25th game of five-or-more rebounds and her eighth double-figure scoring contest … Arterburn, dating back to last season, has tallied double-digit point totals in three of her last four games.