Flagstaff, Ariz. (November 25, 2005)--Senior guard
Lupe Godinez, an Arizona native, led the Lady Jaspers with a career-high 16 points, as Manhattan Women's Basketball downed Army, 72-65, in the opening game of the La Quinta Inn and Suites Thanksgiving Tournament hosted by Northern Arizona University. The Lady J's will face host school Northern Arizona in tomorrow night's championship contest.
Behind a balanced scoring attack and 56 percent shooting from the field, Manhattan took a 39-30 lead into halftime. Army, however, began the new half by putting together a 12-4 run to pull within 43-42 with just under 15 minutes to play. Despite coming within one point of the Lady Jaspers on three separate occasions in the second half, the Black Knights were unable to pull in ahead of Manhattan.
One of the reasons why Army was unable to get over the hump was the playmaking of Godinez. The Arizona native, who scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half, made several big plays when the Black Knights were on the verge of gaining momentum. After Army forward Megan Vrabel, who finished with 10 points on the evening, converted a layup attempt to cut the Lady Jasper lead to 47-46 at the 10:40 mark, Godinez answered right back with a layup of her own. Exactly two and a half minutes later, Godinez answered a Micky Mallette layup, which pulled Army within 51-49, by nailing one of her three three-pointers on the night. Following Godinez's three, freshman guard
Annie McIntyre converted sophomore teammate
Joann Nwafili's steal and pass into another Lady Jasper three-point field goal for a 57-49 advantage.
The Black Knights, however, did not go away and cut the Manhattan lead to 62-61 with just under three minutes left in the game, as guard Erin Begonia dropped in two of her seven points. Following a timeout, Lady Jasper sophomore guard
Lisa Kuchinski nailed an 18-foot jumper from the left corner to give the Lady Jaspers a three-point edge with 2:35 remaining.
Then, with just over a minute to play and the Lady J's still holding a three-point edge, Godinez capped off her career night by picking Begonia's pocket at half-court and cruising down the floor for a layup.
Army guard Cara Enright led the Black Knights with 19 points, while 11 Lady Jaspers scored at least two points in the contest.
Manhattan attempts to complete a perfect road trip, when the Lady Jaspers meet Northern Arizona, who defeated Cal State Fullerton on Friday night, in the tournament's championship game on Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. EST.
