Riverdale, N.Y. (December 7, 2006)?Friday night in Loudonville, N.Y. the Manhattan College women's basketball team will begin another season of MAAC play when they take on the Siena College Saints at Alumni Rec Center.
The Matchup: The Lady Jaspers and Saints meet tonight in the MAAC opener for both squads. Manhattan comes in having dropped its last two games, losing 59-54 to Quinnipiac University last Saturday afternoon at Draddy Gym. Tonight's game is the first of five straight road games for the Lady Jaspers. Siena comes in at 1-7, losing to top-ranked Maryland 93-54 last Monday in College Park, Md.
On The Horizon: Following tonight's game, Manhattan continues the beginning to its MAAC slate of games by making a trip up to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on Marist College at the McCann Center. Following that game, the Lady Jaspers take a break from the MAAC and play three straight non-conference games on the road, starting with the University of Vermont.
Last Year: Manhattan and Siena split their two contests last season, each winning their home games. The two played in the MAAC opener for both teams last season at Siena with the Saints coming away with a 55-40 win. Kymesha Alston led Manhattan with 11 points. In the return game at Draddy, the Lady J's came away with a 62-49 win. Senior Lupe Godinez scored a game high 16 points.
All-time Record: Siena holds a 27-13 edge in the all-time series dating back to 1987. Siena won the initial contest 71-66. Siena has won eight of the last 12 meetings dating back to the 2000-01 season.
Team Leaders: Junior forward Caitlin Flood currently leads the Lady Jaspers in both points and rebounds, averaging 12.4 and 6.1 respectively. Flood is coming off a double-double performance against Quinnipiac and has scored in double figures in four straight games. Siena features reigning MAAC Player of the Week, forward Laura Menty who averaged 21.5 points per game and 9.5 rebounds over two games against Drexel and George Mason. For the season, Menty leads the Saints in points per game with a 14.7 average and total rebounds as well
Follow The Game: Fans can follow the game live via Gametracker by clicking on the link in the schedule section on the main page. Fans can also listen to the game online courtesy of 88.3 The Saint by following the link; http://www.wvcr.com/. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
