Riverdale, N.Y. ? The Lady Jaspers took down local rival Fordham University in the Battle of the Bronx at Draddy Gym, 65-53. Senior Gabrielle Cottrell led all scorers with a game high 18 points while fellow seniors Caitlin Flood and Aubrie Dellinger each had 13 points, respectively. The win improves Manhattan's record to 1-1.
Manhattan came out with a bang as off the tip-off Gabrielle Cottrell came down and hit a three pointer to open the game. The Lady J's went on an early streak, gaining a 6-2 lead. But Fordham was not going quietly that early as they're 7-2 run knotted the score at 9. The Rams would soon take the lead and before they knew it, the Lady Jaspers were facing a 10 point deficit with four minutes left in the first half. But within one minute, Manhattan cut that deficit to four on a 6-0 scoring run. At the half, Fordham went into the locker with a four point lead, 29-25 over Manhattan. The Lady Jaspers were struggled with their field goals in the first half, but still maintained the score to be close.
Within two minutes of the start of the second half, Aubrie Dellinger hit a shot from behind the arc to tie the game at 31 and give the Lady J's some momentum. The Rams battled tough against the Lady Jaspers, and had a three point lead with less than eight minutes left in the game. But another huge three point shot from Dellinger tied the game up. From here on out, Manhattan would not look back as they built up a lead and held onto it. With the game tied at 44, the Lady J's outscored the rams 19-7 for the rest of the game off of an impressive 75% free throw percentage.
The Lady J's went 11-12 from the charity stripe in the final three minutes and shooting 15-20 for the half. Cottrell just missed a double-double netting 18 points, including going 9-10 from the free throw line, and grabbing a team high nine boards. Cottrell was also perfect from deep range as she went 3-3 for the game. Sophomore Annie McIntyre went 2-4 from the three point line, as she tallied nine points and two assists.
The Lady Jaspers will be in action on Saturday, November 17 when they will travel to take on the University of Pennsylvania. Game time is schedule to start at 7:30 p.m.
