Riverdale, N.Y. (December 30, 2005)--It has not happened very often with Manhattan Women's Basketball so far this season, but the Lady Jaspers failed to outshoot their opponent for only the third time during the 2005-06 campaign. Villanova converted on over 51 percent of its shots, including 11 of 22 three-point attempts, en route to a 66-51 victory over Manhattan on Friday afternoon at Draddy Gymnasium. Lady Jasper sophomore forward
Caitlin Flood posted a season-high 17 points and led Manhattan by connecting on eight of her 16 field goal attempts, but the Lady J's shot only 36.4 percent as a team.
Flood, who netted 11 first-half points, was an intrical part of Manhattan's offensive success early on, as the Lady Jaspers led for over a 10-minute span in the first period. Less than three and a half minutes into the game, the sophomore forward took a pass from senior guard
Lupe Godinez and converted it into a three-point play to give the Lady Jaspers a 5-4 lead.
Flood and Godinez hooked up again just over three minutes later, but this time it was Godinez on the receiving end. Flood found Godinez with a pass to the right corner, and the senior guard knocked down a three-pointer to extend Manhattan's lead to 14-8.
After freshman forward
Kelly Regan dropped in a baby hook shot in the paint to put Manhattan up 21-16 with 6:40 remaining in the first half, Villanova began a 15-2 run to close out the period. Villanova senior Betsy McManus sparked the run by knocking down a three-point attempt on two consecutive trips down the floor. The second McManus trey gave the Wildcats' a 22-21 lead, which was their first advantage since they led 4-2 early on.
After Regan grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a jumper to put the Lady J's back in front, 23-22, Villanova scored nine unanswered points and took a 31-23 lead into half-time.
As they did in the first half, the Wildcats outshot the Lady Jaspers in the second half as well, especially from beyond the arc. For the game, Villanova made 11 three-pointers compared to Manhattan's two.
Manhattan cut the Villanova lead to six on an
Aubrie Dellinger jumper with 17:42 remaining in the game, but the Lady J's were unable to get any closer. Villanova shot 62.5 percent from the field, including 6-8 from downtown, during the second half.
Villanova senior guard Jenna Viani was extremely lethal from beyond the arc as she made five of seven three-point attempts en route to a career-high 24 points. She also finished a perfect seven of seven from the free throw line.
Manhattan Women's Basketball closes out its out-of-conference schedule on Monday, January 2, as the Lady Jaspers take on nationally-ranked Maryland in College Park.
