Riverdale, N.Y. (February 15, 2008) ? The Lady Jaspers' offense put on a clinic today in their impressive 82-57 win over Iona College. Manhattan as a team shot 53.3% from the field led by senior Gabrielle Cottrell who had a game high 22 points.
Coming right out of the gate, Manhattan was in control as they held Iona scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the game. They started the game on a 10-2 run, which took them into the first media timeout. With just over ten minutes to play in the half, Aubrie Dellinger came down and hit a big three pointer which put Manhattan up 19-13. Iona took their only lead of the game off a lay-up by Anna McLean with 6:40 on the clock. But the three point shooting was consistent as Cottrell hit a three pointer with just over four minutes left to put the Lady J's up six, 29-23.
The Lady Jaspers closed out the half with a 14-3 run, holding the Gaels to only one field goal. The Lady J's went into the locker room with all the momentum, up 43-26 and looking to continue that in the second half. Four Lady Jaspers were perfect from the field as the team was shooting an unprecedented 60% from the field at the half. Cottrell had 10 points alongside Dellinger's seven at the half.
The Manhattan offense continued right on their pace in the second half as they opened that half up with a 5-0 run. This was Cottrell's half as she was red hot from behind the arc. Manhattan would not let Iona get as close as 20 as they cruised on to an easy 25 point victory.
The Lady J's defense was also in full effect as they tallied nine steals and forced 22 Iona turnovers. They held the Gaels to just 32.7% shooting from the field as their 42.9% from the three point line drove the dagger in.
Cottrell dished out two assists and tallied four steals to go along with her career high 22 points. Cottrell was joined by two other Manhattan players in double digits, Kelly Regan dropped 14 points and Dellinger finished the game with 15.
For the second game in a row, Manhattan finished perfect from the free throw line going 9-9 tonight. They have made 28 consecutive free throws in their last two games.
The Lady Jaspers improve to 14-11 overall and 9-5 in MAAC play. They will return to action on Sunday, February 17 where they will close out their home-stand against Niagara University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
