Bridgeport, Conn. (February 20, 2006)--Lacking defense has not been a problem for the 2005-06 Lady Jaspers, and that trend continued on Monday night as Manhattan held Fairfield to less than 30 percent shooting from the field. Coupled with a stellar offensive performance from Manhattan freshman center Kelly Regan, who dropped in a new career-high 17 points, the Lady Jasper defense carried Manhattan to a 58-49 victory over the Stags at the Arena at Harbor Yard. With the win, Manhattan sweeps the season series from Fairfield and improves to 7-9 in MAAC play.
Regan scored 12 of the 17 points in the first half to help the Lady Jaspers build a first-half lead en route to the victory. With Fairfield holding a 12-9 lead after a Meka Werts jumper, Regan hit a baby jumper with 11:37 remaining in the period. Then, after Werts misfired on a three-ball, freshman Annie McIntyre grabbed the rebound and threw a long pass into the frontcourt to a streaking Joann Nwafili. Nwafili converted a layup to put Manhattan up 13-12, and the Lady J's would lead the rest of the way. Nwafili, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds, added five more points during the final four minutes of the half as Manhattan closed out the period on a 9-0 run to lead 30-20 at the break. Regan added the other four points in that four-minute span.
The Lady Jaspers picked up in the second half right where they left off in the waning minutes of the opening stanza, netting the first five field goals of the second frame. The Manhattan defense did not allow a Fairfield bucket until Stephanie Ryan put in a fast-break layup with 12:35 left on the clock. Prior to the drought-ending layup, Manhattan took the biggest advantage of the game as a baby jumper from Nwafili put the Lady Jaspers up by 17.
Fairfield slowly chipped away at the Manhattan advantage, but the Lady Jaspers would not wither away. The Stags' Sabra Wrice drilled a trifecta to trim the Manhattan lead down to six points, the lowest it had been since the first half, with just over a minute remaining. Sophomore guard Gabrielle Cottrell responded by sinking two free throws just seconds later and the Lady J defense held on for the nine-point victory.
As a team, Manhattan shot 52.5 percent from the field, while the official Fairfield shooting total was 28.8 percent. Wrice was the only Stag to score in double figures as she finished with 13 points.
Manhattan completes it regular season road schedule on Thursday, when the Lady Jaspers travel to Jersey City, N.J. to take on Saint Peter's College.