Riverdale, N.Y. (February 24, 2007)?On Sunday at Draddy Gymnasium, the Lady Jaspers will wrap the 2006-07 regular season with a home contest against Siena. Winners of two in a row and three of four overall, Manhattan will need a victory over the Saints and a Saint Peter's loss to Loyola to secure a bye in the MAAC Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.
Today's Game: The Lady Jaspers welcome in Siena this afternoon for the regular season finale for both teams. Manhattan has won two games in a row and three of four overall after defeating Rider 78-66 Friday night at home. In Siena's last game, the Saints snapped a three game losing streak with a 78-65 home win over Niagara. Both teams come into this game tied with Saint Peter's for the final bye in the next week's MAAC Tournament. A win for either team and a loss by the Peahens would give the bye to one of them.
Last Time Out: Caitlin Flood scored a career high 27 points as the Lady Jaspers defeated Rider 78-66. Manhattan seized control of the game by going on a 25-6 run over nine minutes in the first half, giving the home team a 38-20 lead with just under three minutes to play in the half. While Rider was able to chip away at the lead, Manhattan still went into the break with a 40-30 lead. Manhattan was in control for most of the second half, but Rider got to within 72-66 after a Janele Henderson lay-up with 2:20 remaining; on Manhattan's next possession Gabrielle Cottrell drilled a three-pointer to put Rider away.
On the Horizon: Following today's game, Manhattan will begin the MAAC Tournament on either Thursday or Friday depending on the outcomes of today's games.
Not Too Many Better: Caitlin Flood has had many outstanding games for the Lady Jaspers this season, perhaps none more so than Friday's 27 point performance, where she shot 9-13 from the field. Flood's 27 points is the fifth highest number of points a player has scored in a single game in the MAAC this season.
Give Her The Assist: Junior point Amanda LoCascio is averaging 6.4 assists over her last seven 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 Rider (2/23), giving her 45 assists over her last seven games. LoCascio is averaging 3.44 assists per game, which is fifth in the MAAC.
Lighting It Up: Manhattan shot 54.0 percent as a team against Rider (2/23). The Lady Jaspers have now shot 50 percent or better in four of their past seven games. As a team, Manhattan is shooting .403 on the season, good for fifth in the MAAC.
Follow The Game: Fans who cannot make it to the game can follow the proceedings live on gojaspers.com with Ed Cohen and Brian Mahoney on commentary.
