Loudonville, N.Y. (December 9, 2005)-Freshman forward
Kelly Regan's rightside jumper with 1:44 remaining cut Siena's lead down to five for the first time since the game's opening minutes, but the Lady Jaspers were unable to complete the comeback, falling in the MAAC opener on Friday night, 55-40.
After a slow start had Manhattan trailing by 13 at halftime, the Lady Jaspers would not allow the Siena lead grow to more than 14 during the second half, and eventually made a late surge in the last three minutes to make things very interesting.
After a
Lupe Godinez free throw cut the Siena advantage down to nine, the Manhattan defense forced Siena forward Whitney Cave to throw up a poor shot with the shot clock on the verge of expiring. Sophomore guard
Joann Nwafili grabbed the rebound and found a streaking
Kymesha Alston for an easy layup, trimming the lead to seven.
Following another Manhattan stop, Nwafili set up another freshman for an easy bucket, as Regan pulled the Lady Jaspers within five. With Manhattan applying pressure on the ensuing inbounds play, Nwafili stepped up again and stole the ball out of Saints' guard Melissa Manzer's hands, giving the Lady J's a chance to make it a one possession game. Siena, however, managed to tie up Lady Jasper guard
Gabrielle Cottrell on the right block, resulting in a held ball and Siena regaining possession.
Less than 15 seconds later, Siena guard Lauren Surber converted a three-point to severely damage Manhattan's hopes of completing the comeback. Surber finished with 13 points on the evening, while her teammate Laura Menty posted a game-high 19, with 13 of those points coming from the charity stripe.
Alston led the Lady J's with 11 points and added five boards, while Nwafili finished with eight points, three steals, and a team-high seven rebounds.
Manhattan continues conference play on Sunday, December 11, as they host Niagara University in Draddy Gym. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m.
