Lawrenceville, N.J. (February 3, 2008) ? The Lady Jaspers' offense was at its best today in their easy win over Rider University. Everybody on the Lady J's roster had a point today as freshman Abby Wentworth had a career day with 16 points. Manhattan had six scorers with 10 or more points in the game today.
Manhattan came out strong at the start of the game, as Caitlin Flood scored the first five points for the Lady Jaspers. After a drive and a lay-up by Abby Wentworth, the Lady J's were up 14-6 with Wentworth and Flood combining for Manhattan's first 14 points. The offense wasn't the only thing going for the Lady J's as their defense continue to hold strong. They held Rider scoreless for nearly five minutes, going on a 10-1 run in that time. That wasn't all, as towards the end of the half with just over three minutes remaining, the Lady Jaspers forced Rider into a shot clock violation to give their defense more of a spark.
The Lady J's went into the locker room with a commanding, 43-22 lead and looking to keep their intensity up in the second half. Wentworth finished with 14 points at the half going a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. Flood finished with 10 points alongside Aubrie Dellinger's 2-3 shooting from behind the arc. The Lady Jaspers looked to feed off their 52% field goal shooting in the second half and come away with a victory.
Manhattan brought their momentum with them in the second half as they worked the ball around the court very well and were taking smart shots all throughout the half. With a little over 13 minutes sophomore Michelle Pacheco grabbed a rebound out of the air and put it back up and then hit a lay-up after a nice fake move off of a Dellinger steal to put Manhattan up 60-32. The Lady Jaspers would cruise on to an 82-49 victory, scoring their highest point total this season and achieving their largest margin of victory.
Wentworth's game high 16 points came off of 5-9 shooting from the field, hitting her only three point attempt and going a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. Flood contributed 14 points and seven boards, respectively. Manhattan shot 52.7% from the field as a team, while forcing 20 Rider turnovers. Their defense continues to stay strong as they held Rider's top scorer, Janele Henderson to just eight points, all coming in the first half.
Manhattan improves to a 8-3 in conference play and 13-9 overall. The Lady J's will return to action on Friday, February 8 as they will play the first of a Manhattan College doubleheader against Loyola College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Draddy Gymnasium.
