Riverdale, N.Y. (December 19, 2007) ? Manhattan cruised passed SMU with a 17-8 run in the last six minutes of the game to notch a 70-60 victory over Southern Methodist University. The Lady Jaspers handed SMU their first loss in eight games and second loss overall. Senior Caitlin Flood led all Lady J's with 16 points on the night, going 10-12 from the free throw line.
The Mustangs came into tonight's game with an 8-1 overall record as the Lady J's were beginning a three game home-stand. In the first half, the Lady J's found themselves down 13-10 with just under four minutes to play. Their defense stepped up as they put together a 7-0 run in the next five minutes to take a four point lead. Both teams were playing tough as the score was tied at 23 points apiece with 3:17 left in the first half. Junior Annie McIntyre and senior Gabrielle Cottrell hit two three pointers on Manhattan's next two possessions to take a 29-23 lead. The Lady J's would hold onto that lead and go into the locker room with a 31-28 lead. McIntyre led all Manhattan scorers in the first half with nine points off of 3-6 shooting from behind the arc. The Lady Jaspers were looking to take their momentum into the second half and knew SMU was not going to go quietly.
At the start of the second half, both teams were leaving it all on the floor as the game reached the first media timeout and the Manhattan still held on to a three point lead, 36-33. The Mustangs made a run themselves as over the next seven minutes, the Lady J's were staring at an eight point deficit, 48-40 with just under 10 minutes to play in the game. The deficit seemed to mean nothing as Manhattan hit three consecutive three pointers to go on a 9-0 run and regain the lead 49-48. The Lady Jaspers stayed with SMU as they tried to make another run, but the defense kept them in check. With the scoreboard showing a one point lead in Manhattan's favor, sophomore Vanessa Davison made two buckets to increase the lead to five, 61-56. SMU would not get any closer as the Lady J's went on a 9-4 run to close out the game. With clutch free throw shooting in the end, Manhattan came away with a big 70-60 win.
Flood grabbed nine rebounds and tallied two steals to go along with her team-high 16 points in the game. Cottrell added 10 points and two steals for the Lady J's, respectively. McIntyre and senior Aubrie Dellinger each finished the game with nine points. Manhattan totaled nine steals on the game as well as only turning the ball over 10 times in the entire game.
Manhattan improves their overall record to 7-4 as SMU drops to 8-2. The Lady Jaspers will return to action on Saturday, December 22 to take on the University of Vermont. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
