Riverdale, N.Y. (February 23, 2007)?Coming off a dramatic victory over Niagara, the Lady Jaspers welcome in MAAC foe Rider to Draddy Gymnasium for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off. With wins in their final two games, Manhattan will put itself in excellent position for a first round bye in next week's MAAC Tournament. Fans who cannot make it to the game can follow the proceeding on gojaspers.com with Ed Cohen and Brian Mahoney on commentary.
Today's Game: The Lady Jaspers play their second to last regular season game tonight when they welcome in the Rider Broncs to Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan is 5-5 in its last 10 games, beginning with an 83-75 win over Rider on January 19th. Manhattan is tied for sixth place in the MAAC, and will need to win its final two games and have either Saint Peter's or Canisius lose to earn a first round bye in next week's MAAC Tournament.
Last Time Out: Manhattan defeated Niagara last Sunday in thrilling fashion as Annie McIntyre drilled a three-pointer with just 0.6 seconds remaining to give Manhattan a 70-67 win over the Purple Eagles. With the Lady Jaspers leading 67-65, Niagara's Chantelle Wilson knocked down two foul shots to tie the score with 30 seconds remaining. Manhattan was able to milk the clock down to six seconds, before calling a timeout and setting up the final play. Manhattan trailed in this game 56-51 with 6:49 to play after a 9-4 Niagara run, but the Lady Jaspers answered with a 10-4 run, capped off by a three-pointer by Gabrielle Cottrell that gave Manhattan the lead for good at 61-60 with 3:56 to play.
On the Horizon: Following tonight's game, Manhattan concludes its regular season by welcoming Siena to Draddy Gym for a noon tip-off. The Lady Jaspers began MAAC play this season with a 52-48 win over the Saints on December 8th. Manhattan will begin the MAAC Tournament on either Thursday or Friday.
A Western New York Flavor: Kelly Regan equaled her career high with 22 points against Niagara (2/18). Regan set her career high earlier in the season with a 22 point performance against Canisius at Draddy Gym. In eight career games against Niagara and Canisius, Regan is averaging over 11 points.
She Can Pass Too: Caitlin Flood is Manhattan's leading scorer and rebounder, but against Niagara, she recorded a career high nine assists.
A Career High... In One Half: Last Sunday against Saint Peter's, Gabrielle Cottrell scored a career high 20 points against the Peahens. In last 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.
Give Her The Assist: Junior point Amanda LoCascio is averaging 6.8 assists over her last six games. She handed out 10 assists at Fairfield (2/2) which was a career high, and the first time a Lady Jasper has had more than 10 assists in a game since Donnette Reed handed out 13 against Iona on 12/2/04. LoCascio dished out five more against Marist (2/4), eight assists against Fairfield (2/9), five against St. Peter's (2/11), six against Canisius (2/16) and seven more at Niagara (2/18) giving her 41 in the last six games. Averaging 3.38 assists a game, LoCascio ranks fifth in the MAAC in that category.
Follow The Game: Fans who cannot attend tonight's game can follow the proceeding live via internet radio on gojaspers.com. Ed Cohen handles the play-by-play, with former Jasper basketball player Brian Mahoney on color commentary.
