Riverdale, N.Y. (December 2, 2005)--Freshman forward Kymesha Alston gave the Lady Jaspers a 2-0 advantage with a layup in the first minute of the game, and Manhattan Women's Basketball never trailed in a 69-55 victory over Bronx rival Fordham University on Friday night at Draddy Gym. Four Lady Jaspers scored in double digits, and Manhattan outshot its opponent for the fourth consecutive game.
With Manhattan leading 9-2 early on, Fordham put together a 7-0 run capped off by guard Lisa Carrol's layup with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half to pull the Rams even for the last time on the night. Carrol finished with a game-high 21 points for Fordham.
In response to the Fordham run, Manhattan junior center Larie Dew, a junior college transfer, scored her first basket in a Lady Jasper uniform to spark an 11-0 spurt that gave the Lady J's a 20-9 lead. Fordham would respond right back with another run of its own to cut the Manhattan lead to 22-21 with 3:15 remaining in the half. The Lady J's, however, ended the half in the same exact manner they began it, by rattling off a 9-2 run to take a 31-23 advantage into the break.
In the first six minutes of the second half, Manhattan held a 14-point lead on three different occasions before Fordham began to slowly chip away at the deficit. With exactly two minutes remaining in the contest, two Carrol free throws cut the Manhattan lead down to six at 60-54, but Lady Jasper sophomore guard Joann Nwafili nailed the two free throws of her own to give her squad an eight-point edge with just over a minute to play. The Lady J's, who shot 91 percent from the charity stripe over the course of the game, converted 9 of 10 free attempts in the final two minutes en route to the 14-point victory.
In all, eight of the nine Lady J's that checked into the game scored at least two points. Dew, who only logged four minutes of playing time before tonight's game, finished with 10 points and five rebounds, while freshman forward Kelly Regan added 12 points and grabbed seven boards to lead the Lady Jaspers in both categories.
After winning Bronx Bragging Rights for the second straight season, Manhattan will now travel north to take on the defending America East Conference Champion Hartford Hawks on Sunday, December 4. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m.