Riverdale, N.Y. (January 25, 2007)?After a 1-1 road trip, the Lady Jaspers return home to Draddy Gymnasium tonight to take on Canisius. Manhattan will be looking to keep pace with the MAAC's leaders and pick up a win at home before going back on the road next week. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m.
Today's Game: The Lady Jaspers and Canisius meet this evening in a MAAC contest at Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan went 1-1 on a two game road trip, defeating Rider 83-75 and falling to Loyola 61-45. The Golden Griffins are in the middle of a four game road swing and have dropped two straight games, losing to Siena and Niagara. Overall, Canisius is 3-3 in its last six games.
Last Time Out: The Lady Jaspers allowed Loyola to shoot an even 50 percent from the field and were defeated by the Greyhounds 61-45 at the Retiz Arena. Vika Sholokhova and Meghan Wood each scored 16 points in the victory. After a Gabrielle Cottrell three-pointer cut Loyola's lead to 14-12 in the first half, the Greyhounds used a 10-2 run to lead 24-14. Trailing by 10 at halftime, Annie McIntyre who scored a career high 13 points, connected from long range to cut Loyola's lead 35-28. However the home side used a 9-0 run soon after to increase its lead to 16 points, a lead that was too large for Manhattan to overcome.
On the Horizon: Following tonight's game, Manhattan goes back on the road for two straight games away from home against MAAC foes Saint Peter's and Fairfield. Monday's game against Saint Peter's, a 5:00 p.m. tip-off, can be seen on MAAC-TV.
Nwafili Out For The Year: The Lady Jaspers suffered a tough blow on December 13th when the team learned that guard Joann Nwafili would be lost for the year with a torn ACL. The junior suffered the injury in the second half of Manhattan's 52-42 victory at Siena. Up to this point in the season, Nwafili was averaging 6.8 points per game and was second on team in rebounds per game with 4.8, while starting every game for the Green & White. The injury caused Nwafili to miss a game for the first time since her freshmen year.
Fantastic Flood: Junior Caitlin Flood has been a force to be reckoned with the past seven games, scoring at least 20 points in four of those games. Flood put up 20 points against Iona on 1/6, then scored 21 against Niagara on 1/8. The forward equaled her career high with a 22 point performance against the Greyhounds of Loyola on 1/12. After having a down game at Iona, Flood scored 20 more against Penn, and 19 against Rider. Flood has averaged 16.5 points per game and 8.0 rebounds over the past seven contests. The scoring spree has vaulted Flood up the MAAC scoring average leaders.
Hurting Lady Jaspers: To compound Nwafili's injury, the Lady Jaspers have been bitten by the injury bug this season. Including her injury, which has forced her to miss ten games so far, six other players have combined to miss 22 games due to a variety of aliments, bringing the total to 33 games with Nwafili's injury. Only four players have suited up for every game, Caitlin Flood, Kelly Regan, Gabrielle Cottrell, and Jenna Franciosa.
Awesome Annie: Sophomore Annie McIntyre sparked Manhattan's offense in a big way at Iona on 1/14. The sophomore from Portland, Ore. drilled four three-pointers in the first 10 minutes against the Gaels, helping Manhattan to an early 23-16 lead. Her 12 points in that contest were a career high. Last Sunday against Loyola, McIntyre beat that total with a 13 point game on five of eight shooting.
Scouting Canisius: The Golden Griffs come into tonight's contest sporting an 11-8 record and a 3-5 mark in the MAAC. Canisius has a balanced scoring attack, with three players averaging double figures, led by Megan Lyte's 11.4 points per game. Tonight's visitors are one of three teams in the MAAC to have a positive scoring margin and are fourth in rebounding margin. Lyte, with 6.8 boards per game, is third in the MAAC.
Follow The Game: Fans who cannot attend the game can follow the game via internet radio on gojaspers.com with Ed Cohen and Brian Mahoney on commentary.
