Boulder, CO (January 2, 2005)- In their final non-conference game of the regular season, the Lady Jaspers went into halftime with a 29-28 lead over Colorado, an NCAA Tournament participant in each of the last four seasons. However, the Buffaloes ultimately exploited their size advantage as Kara Richards scored 17 of her 24 points in the second half to help Colorado pull away and capture a 73-61 decision.
After Colorado (7-4) grabbed a 10-2 lead to begin the game, Manhattan (6-5) hit six three-pointers during the first half to storm back and grab a 29-28 halftime lead after sophomore
Kristen Tracey hit two treys on consecutive possessions to end the half. Tracey scored all 11 of her points in the first half on 4-6 shooting from the field. Although the Lady Jaspers shot 11-30 from the field in the half, the team registered an assist on each of its eleven baskets.
Freshman
Aubrie Dellinger scored the first five points of the second half for the Lady J's, which extended their lead to 38-32, its largest lead of the game, on a jumper by junior
Jennifer LePinnet at the 17:27 mark. Manhattan led 43-39 with 14:18 to play, but Colorado went on a 7-0 run over the next 1:30 to move ahead, 46-43. Colorado then extended the lead to 57-47 at the 8:36 mark and went on a 11-0 run over the next four minutes to increase its lead to 68-49.
LePinnet finished with 11 points, her highest in a Manhattan uniform, in a season-high 29 minutes of action, joining classmate
Lupe Godinez, who also scored 11 points. Meanwhile, freshman
Lisa Kuchinski had a career-high six assists without a turnover for the Lady Jaspers.
The Lady Jaspers, who are 2-0 in the MAAC, will return to conference play on Saturday, January 8, when they will take on Niagara, which is also 2-0 in the MAAC. Tip-off at Draddy Gym is slated for 2:00 p.m.
