Jersey City, N.J. (February 23, 2006)--Sophomore guards
Joann Nwafili and
Gabrielle Cottrell did their best to kick start the Lady Jaspers' offense early on in the second half, but Tyonna Vance and the Saint Peter's bench quickly snuffed out the Manhattan rally en route to a 63-49 victory over the Lady J's on Wednesday night at the Yanitelli Center. In addition to shooting 55 percent from the field, Saint Peter's outscored Manhattan by 14 in the bench points category.
Five of those points came from Vance at a crucial juncture in the game. In the opening minutes of the second half, the Peahens extended their 13-point half-time advantage to 17, but Cottrell nailed consecutive three-pointers from, one from each side of the floor to pull within 11 with 14:40 to play. Three minutes later, Nwafili got into the act as she converted a three-point play from the left block and then followed with another layup the next time down the floor to make the score 48-39 with 10:20 to play. Vance, however, responded with a layup in transition to move the Peahens' lead back into double digits, and then, she knocked down a three shortly thereafter to extend the Saint Peter's lead to 15.
The Peahens would lead by as many as 18 in the half, and the Lady J's were unable to get any closer than seven during the second stanza.
Cottrell finished with 15 points for Manhattan and fellow sophomore
Caitlin Flood led all Manhattan scorers with 17. The lone Saint Peter's player in double figures was forward Kalisha Lewis with 18, 15 of which came in the opening period. Lewis' 15 first-half points coupled with 15 first-half Manhattan giveaways allowed Saint Peter's to take a 37-24 lead into the break.
The game was knotted at 20 after Flood, who was a perfect seven of seven from the charity stripe, hit two free throws with 6:04 remaining until half-time. The Peahens closed out the period on a 17-4 run.
Manhattan closes out its regular season schedule on Senior Day, Sunday, February 26 against Iona in Draddy Gym. Tip-off is 4:00 p.m. and the game will air live on MSG.
