New Rochelle, NY (February 6, 2005)- Iona shot 46.7% from the field and 28-32 from the foul line en route to a 74-53 victory over Manhattan today at the Mulcahy Center. Despite a career-high 22 points from freshman
Caitlin Flood, who went 9-12 from the field, the Lady Jaspers shot 35.1% for the game and committed 19 turnovers.
After Iona (4-17, 2-10 MAAC) stormed out to an 11-2 lead to begin the game, Manhattan rallied behind three treys from senior
Serra Sangar and freshmen
Aubrie Dellinger and
Joann Nwafili to take a 16-14 lead with 11:38 left in the first half. However, the Gaels would go on a 20-5 run to end the half, holding Manhattan to a single field goal over that stretch. Meg Abele scored nine of her team-high 16 points in the first half, while Manhattan shot 25.9% in the half, enabling Iona to take a 34-21 lead into intermission.
The Lady Jaspers (9-12, 5-7 MAAC) would cut the Iona lead to eight points twice early in the second half, getting as close as 38-30 with 16:16 remaining on a jumper by Flood, who poured in 16 of her 22 points in the second half. With Iona leading 46-37 at the 9:55 mark, Iona ripped off a 12-2 run to extend its lead to 58-39, marking its largest lead of the game up to that point. The Gaels ultimately hit 18-19 from the foul line in the second half to secure the victory.
Manhattan outrebounded Iona 40-27 for the game, and 21-7 on the offensive glass. Sangar added eight points and 11 rebounds, while Nwafili tallied nine points and nine rebounds, including eight offensive rebounds, which marks the season-high for any Manhattan player.
The Lady J's will return to action on Thursday, February 10, when they will host Fairfield at Draddy Gym. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.
