Niagara University, N.Y. (February 18, 2007)?With just three games left in the regular season, the Lady Jaspers will play their final road game of the season this afternoon at Niagara. With a first round bye in the MAAC Tournament within reach, Manhattan will need to finish strong to put themselves in the best position possible for a postseason run. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. from the Gallagher Center.
Today's Game: The Lady Jaspers play their final road game of the 2006-07 season this afternoon against the Purple Eagles. Manhattan will be looking to avenge a 70-51 loss at the hands of Niagara earlier in the season and salvage a split in the season series. The Lady Jaspers are coming off a hard fought, 56-52 loss to Canisius on Friday night, in which Gabrielle Cottrell set a new career high in points with 21, all in the second half.
Last Time Out: Manhattan dropped a 56-52 decision to Canisius Friday night at the Koessler Athletic Center. The Lady Jaspers struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 4-24, and went into halftime trailing 20-11. However, both teams picked up the scoring significantly in the second half. Manhattan trailed 46-39 with just under five minutes to play, but Cottrell scored the game's next seven points to get Manhattan within 46-42. As time ran down, Canisius would make their foul shots to keep their lead at five points. Trailing 54-49, Cottrell would connect from long range to make the score 54-52 with 12 seconds left. Manhattan was then forced to foul Jessie Lamparski immediately after she received the inbounds pass. Lamparski would hit both shots to seal the win for Canisius.
Follow The Game: Fans can follow the game via live webcast, courtesy of the Niagara University Athletic Department, by clicking on the link at the top of the page.
On the Horizon: Following this afternoon's game, Manhattan returns home to Riverdale for its final two regular season games. Friday night the Lady Jaspers welcome in Rider, and on Sunday Siena comes into Draddy Gymnasium to close out the season.
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.
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 18 games so far, six other players have combined to miss 29 games due to a variety of aliments, bringing the total to 47 games with Nwafili's injury. Only four players have suited up for every game, Caitlin Flood, Kelly Regan, Gabrielle Cottrell, and Jenna Franciosa.
Welcome Home: Lady Jaspes sophomore center Kelly Regan, a native of Williamsburg, N.Y. and a Nichols School alum, seems to enjoy playing against Canisius and Niagara. Last season, when the Lady Jaspers played at the Western New York schools, Regan scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. Against Niagara, Regan scored 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds as she was named MAAC Rookie of the Week for her efforts. This season against Canisius, Regan scored a career high 22 points as Manhattan won 56-55.
A Career High... In One Half: Last Sunday against Saint Peter's, Gabrielle Cottrell scored a career high 20 points against the Peahens. In Friday night's game against Canisius, Cottrell needed just one half to beat that mark. After going scoreless in the first half, Cottrell exploded for 21 points in the second, going 8-12 from the field and 5-8 from long range.
