Riverdale, N.Y. (February 17, 2008) ? The Lady Jaspers fell on a last second three pointer by Niagara's Michelle Manfredi. The 66-67 loss is the second loss by a buzzer beater this season. Senior Caitlin Flood led all scorers with a 21 point performance on 7-12 shooting from the field.
In the first half, it was a back and forth game as both teams were trading baskets one after the other. With just over six minutes remaining in the first half, Caitlin Flood hit a three pointer to give Manhattan a 20-19 lead. Niagara answered right back on the next possession as they regained the lead. Freshman Abby Wentworth put Manhattan in the lead once again, 24-21, as she hit a deep three pointer. But the Purple Eagles went on a quick 4-0 run towards the end of the half and Manhattan was trailing 32-30 at halftime.
Flood had 12 first half points as the Lady Jaspers were looking to find a way to stop Niagara's offense. They knew they would have to play intense defense and put pressure on the Purple Eagles for Manhattan to stay in this game.
The start of the second half played out much like the first as the teams were going basket for basket. With 13:35 left, Wentworth made a beautiful fake and drove the baseline for the bucket and the lead as Manhattan went up, 46-45. Down by two, Gabrielle Cottrell started to get going as she nailed a deep three to put the Lady Jaspers in the lead once again, 56-55.
This game was kept close the entire way as in the second half; no team had a larger lead than four points. It was going to come down in the end for both teams. Wit the game tied at 64, Niagara had the ball with under a minute to play. As time ran down, Cottrell stole the ball and gave Manhattan a last second opportunity with just 11 seconds on the clock. Right off the inbounds pass, Flood got the ball and drove the lane as she hit a fading lay-up to put the Lady J's up two, 66-64. Only 7.6 seconds on the clock and Niagara turned the ball over on the inbounds pass.
The game was all but wrapped up, but after a missed free throw, Manfredi came down the court and hit a well contested three at the buzzer for the win.
Manhattan held Niagara to just three points in the last three minutes of the game, before the buzzer beater. Flood grabbed four boards and dished out three assists to go alongside her 21 points. Wentworth was clutch in the game, narrowly missing a double-double as she scored 14 points and had eight rebounds. As a team, Manhattan tallied 10 steals on the day, while also forcing 15 Niagara turnovers.
The Lady Jaspers will return to action on Friday, February 22 where they will play their last home game of the regular season against Fairfield University. Tip-off is scheduled 7:00 p.m.
