Baltimore, Md. (January 5, 2008) ? In their first game of the new year, the Lady J's beat Loyola College in Maryland. It was a team effort for the Lady Jaspers as four players have 11 or more points in the game. Senior Caitlin Flood led all scorers with 19 points, shooting 7-9 from the field as well as 4-6 from the free throw line.
Coming into the game, both teams were perfect in MAAC play as the Greyhounds and Lady Jaspers sported 2-0 conference records. The winner of this game would jump ahead of the other to gain a one game lead in the standings. Manhattan played hard right out of the gate as they raced out to a 9-2 lead with 17:04 to play off of Aubrie Dellinger's two three pointers. The Lady J's were excited and playing hard, but knew it was still early in the game. The Greyhounds put together a little run of their own as they closed out the half with a 15-4 run. Dellinger finished the half with eight points as Manhattan was trailing by four, 29-25 at the break.
Both teams were playing tough and the ladies were battling for every point throughout the game. After an opening bucket by Loyola, senior Gabrielle Cottrell hit two consecutive three point field goals to tie the game up, 31-31. With just over 18 minutes to play, the game was kept close as no team had more than a three point lead for the next seven minutes. A three by Dellinger with 11:21 left in the game put the Lady J's up by four and had the momentum swinging their way.
Manhattan went on a 17-6 run for eight minutes in the second half to take a 10 point lead. The Lady J's sported an 11 point lead with 1:33 left as Loyola's Candice Walker hit a three pointer to cut Manhattan's lead to nine. But this would be the closet the Greyhounds would come as the Lady Jaspers defense helped close out the game and get the victory.
Flood tallied seven rebounds to go along with her 19 points in the game. Dellinger finished the game with 14 points off of 4-7 shooting from three point range. Cottrell also finished the game with 14 as she was 5-11 from the field. As a team, Manhattan shot 50% from behind arc and 49.1% from the field. The Lady J's defense stepped up as they held the Greyhounds to only 18% shooting from behind the arc and grabbed 14 defensive rebounds as a team.
The Lady Jaspers improve their overall record to 8-6 and 3-0 in conference play. Manhattan will return to action on Friday, January 11 as Siena College travels to Riverdale for a MAAC game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
