Riverdale, NY (November 28, 2004)- Senior forward
Serra Sangar (Istanbul, Turkey/Colby JC) scored a career-high 24 points and had a game-high 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Jaspers to a convincing 77-49 win over Bucknell this afternoon at Draddy Gymnasium in the team's home opener. Manhattan (2-1) held Bucknell (1-4) to 34.2% shooting from the field and forced 26 Bison turnovers in the victory.
Manhattan jumped out to a 21-8 lead to begin the game, capped by a layup from freshman guard
Joann Nwafili (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia). Bucknell responded with a 7-0 run to cut the Lady Jaspers' lead to six, but Manhattan regained the momentum and extended its lead to 38-26 at halftime. Sangar scored 14 of her 24 points in the half, on 7-9 shooting from the field.
The Lady Jaspers came out strong on the defensive end to begin the second half, as they went on a 14-1 run at the outset, and would hold the Bison to only 5-15 shooting from the field in the half. Manhattan took its largest lead of the game at 68-34 with 6:57 left to play on a three-pointer from Nwafili, who totaled a career-high 14 points. Senior guard
Donnette Reed (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) scored in double-figures for the third consecutive game, contributing 11 points, five assists and four steals. Meanwhile, junior guard
Lupe Godinez (Glendale, AZ/Independence/Phoenix College) scored 10 points and had five assists with only one turnover in her first start for the Lady Jaspers. Freshman forward
Caitlin Flood (Blairstown, NJ/North Warren Regional) helped out on the glass, registering 10 rebounds to go along with seven points.
The Lady Jaspers outrebounded the Bison 39-30, and collected 15 offensive boards for 25 second chance points. Manhattan also shot a season-high 46.3% from the field and took care of the basketball, committing a season-low 14 turnovers. The Lady J's are now 21-6 all-time in their home opener.
Manhattan returns to action on Thursday, December 2, when they will open the MAAC regular season against local rival Iona. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.
