Buffalo, NY (March 4, 2005)- Canisius shot 56.3% from the field in the second half and held off a late Manhattan rally to capture a 60-50 victoy over the Lady Jaspers today in the second round of the MAAC Championships. Freshman Caitlin Flood led all scorers with 14 points, while Becky Zak had 12 points to lead a balanced Canisius attack.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair early, as Canisius led 14-9 with 10:53 remaining in the half, paced by three treys by Zak during that span. Canisius then went on a 15-8 run over the next eight minutes, and opened up a 29-17 lead with 2:03 remaining in the half. Canisius hit 8-10 from the foul line, and 5-13 from long range in the half, while forcing 15 Manhattan turnovers en route to a 31-21 lead at intermission.
Canisius opened up a 20-point lead after starting the second half on a 12-2 run to take a 43-23 lead with 13:58 left in regulation. The Lady J's climbed back into the game, however, getting to within nine (47-38) with 8:18 left, capping a 15-4 run over the next five minutes. Manhattan got closer, cutting the lead to eight points (50-42) on a layup from senior Donnette Reed with 6:21 left. The teams exchanged baskets from that point, while Manhattan had its chance to cut the deficit to six points, but could not convert offensively. Canisius' defense held strong, as the Golden Griffins had a 57-47 advantage with 1:08, and ultimately held the Lday Jaspers to 12-38 shooting from the field in the second half.
The Lady Jaspers outrebounded Canisius 40-30, including 20-7 on the offensive glass. After committing 15 turnovers in the first half, Manhattan took care of the ball in the second half, and only totaled five turnovers in the stanza.
Manhattan concludes the 2004-05 season with an 11-18 overall record.