Teaneck, N.J. (December 15, 2007) ? The Lady Jaspers lost in their first overtime game of this season to Fairleigh Dickinson University. This is the second time this season that the Lady J's have lost a one point decision. Manhattan was led by senior Caitlin Flood's 18 points and sophomore Michelle Pacheco's 13 points.
In the first half, Manhattan played a team game as six different Lady Jaspers scored. Manhattan was playing tough and the game found itself tied at 24 with 4:24 seconds left in the half. Senior Aubrie Dellinger hit a huge three pointer to break the tie and start off Manhattan's run. The Lady J's held Fairleigh Dickinson scoreless for just under five minutes and went on a 7-2 scoring run to close the first half. The scoreboard favored the Lady Jaspers as they went into the locker room with a 31-26 lead. Pacheco led all scorers at half time with nine points and also dished out two assists.
Manhattan knew FDU was not going to just roll over, so they had to be prepared for the Lady Knights to come out strong. The Lady J's did jus that as with ten minutes left in the game, Manhattan extended its lead to seven, 40-33. Farleigh Dickinson did not give up as they came back to tie the game up with a Jennifer Walkling jumper with 2:05 left in the half. The game was kept close from this point on, as Flood went to the hole hard and was fouled with 37.4 seconds left. After making good on her two free throws, Manhattan was holding on to a two point lead with under 30 seconds to play. Walkling hit a lay-up to tie the game up and the possession went back to Manhattan. After a timeout, the Lady J's came out on the floor with the intention of taking the last shot of the ball game. After a quick shot went up, the ball bounced off a Manhattan player and gave FDU possession with a little over two seconds left. On the inbounds play, the ball was sent down court only to be stolen by senior Joanna Nwafili. With time running out Nwafili put the ball up from beyond half court only to bank off the board and miss. The game was tied at 52 points apiece and heading into overtime.
In the five minute overtime period, Manhattan was on their heels as they were looking to get out of a three minute scoring drought. The Lady J's were behind 58-54 after Flood hit two free throws to keep them close. On their next trip down the court, senior Aubrie Dellinger hit a big jump shot to pull the game within two points and coming up on the closing minute. Down 58-56, Pacheco came up with a huge steal and continued all the way down the court for a lay-up and the foul. Her three point play with under a minute put the Lady J's up 59-58. With 25 seconds left, the Lady Knights hit another big shot to regain the lead. The Lady Jaspers could not come up with any last second heroics as they fell to a final of 60-59.
Pacheco set a new career high tonight with her 13 point performance. Flood narrowly missed a double-double grabbing nine boards to go along with her team high 18 points. Manhattan shot 67% from behind the arc as a team and also tallied 10 steals on the game.
Manhattan's record falls to 6-4 overall, but still are 2-0 in the MAAC. The Lady Jaspers will return to action on Wednesday, December 19 as they will continue non-conference play. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
