Riverdale, N.Y. (January 12, 2006)--The location was not the only difference between the Lady Jaspers' first game against Siena and this evening's MAAC contest versus the Saints. As the venue changed from Loudonville, N.Y. to Manhattan's Draddy Gym, so did the Lady Jaspers' performance as Manhattan (6-8, 3-2 MAAC) avenged an earlier loss to Siena (6-8, 2-3 MAAC) by downing the Saints, 62-49, on Thursday night. Senior guard
Lupe Godinez led all scorers as she tied her career-high with 16 points.
In addition to the final score being in Manhattan's favor this time around, the Lady Jaspers managed to decrease their turnovers from 20 in the first meeting to 11 on Thursday, as well as better their shooting from 35 percent when the teams met on Siena's home floor to 48 percent at Draddy. A major part of Manhattan's shooting success came from Godinez, who failed to record a field goal during the game against the Saints on December 9. In the grudge match, however, the senior guard finished 6-10 from the field including 4-5 from beyond the arc.
With Manhattan trailing 8-5 in the early going, Godinez grabbed a long offensive rebound and drained a three-pointer from the left corner to tie the game at eight with 12:17 remaining in the first half. From that point on, the Lady J's would not trail again as Manhattan took a 30-22 lead into the break.
In the second half, Godinez stepped up once again to help the Lady Jaspers' extend their lead. After freshman forward
Kelly Regan hit a jumper off of sophomore
Caitlin Flood's pass to make the score 40-33 in favor of Manhattan with just over 11 minutes left on the clock, Godinez came up with two big plays.
On Siena's ensuing possession after the Regan basket, Godinez stepped into the passing lane to intercept Michelle Blot's pass and take it all the way in for a layup. Then, on Manhattan's very next possession, Godinez led the fast break and set up a trailing Regan for a wide open layup on the right block, which extended the Lady Jaspers' lead to 44-33 with under 10 minutes to play.
Manhattan led by as many as 17 during the second half en route to the 13-point victory. In addition to Godinez tying a career-high, Regan set a new career-high in points with 14 on the night. Siena's Katelyn Dooley was the only Saint to score in double figures as she netted 11.
With the victory, Manhattan improves to a perfect 3-0 in MAAC home games this season.
The Lady Jaspers return to the hardwood on Saturday, January 14 as they take on Canisius College at Draddy Gym. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m., and the game will be aired on RNN Television via a tape delay on Sunday.
