Niagara University, N.Y. (January 27, 2008) ? The Lady Jaspers fell in a conference game against Niagara University today. Senior Caitlin Flood led all scorers, with 17 points while fellow senior Gabrielle Cottrell notched a double-double dropping 13 points and grabbing 10 boards.
Coming out in at the start of the game, the Lady Jaspers looked like they were in control. Freshman Abby Wentworth and senior Aubrie Dellinger hit consecutive three pointers for the Lady J's and opened Manhattan's lead, 10-2 with 1305 remaining in the half. But the Purple Eagles were not done as they went on a 11-7 run to cut the Lady Jaspers' lead to four, 17-13. With 6:16 left, freshman Alicia Marculitis picked up her third personal foul which put Niagara on the line for a one-and-one opportunity. After converting those free throws, Niagara had now comeback to tie the game up at 17-17.
The Lady J's went without a point for nearly five minutes as they were now staring at their own deficit. Going into the locker room at halftime, Manhattan was trailing Niagara 26-20. Wentworth led all Manhattan scorers with seven points and five boars as she was a perfect 2-2 from behind the arc. The Lady Jaspers needed to come out strong in the second half in order to work their way toward a victory.
And the Lady J's did just that as senior Gabrielle Cottrell hit a three pointer to open up the half for Manhattan. Soon after, Caitlin Flood grabbed an offensive rebound, put it back up for the bucket and drew the foul with 18:17 left in the half. After she converted the free throw, Manhattan was now down just four in the opening two minutes of the second half. Niagara kept up with the Lady J's but Cottrell came through once again to hit a deep shot behind the arc to keep Manhattan close.
The Lady Jaspers got as close as one point after a Cottrell jumper, but the three point shooting of Niagara's Liz Flooks kept them from taking the lead. Niagara would hold on the rest of the way and Manhattan would fall, 69-62.
Cottrell finished the game with a double-double as she dropped 13 points and grabbed 10 boards on the night. Flood ended scoring her 17 points, all in the second half as Manhattan fell short.
Manhattan falls to 6-3 in conference and 11-9 overall. The Lady Jaspers will return to action on Friday, February 1 as they will come back home their second game against Canisius College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.
