Manhattanville Athletics Hall of Fame
As the Manhattanville women's basketball team was establishing itself as a national power, Brenda (Kearns) Mayo was the point guard leading the team to new heights. A rare mix of scorer and distributor, Kearns still stands as Manhattanville's all-time leader in assists (593) and free throws made (512) and also ranks fourth in program history with 1,266 points. Helping to set up classmate and fellow Hall of Famer Theresa Carey '82, she boasts the top single-season assist total in school history (178 in 1981-82) and four of the top-seven all-time at the school.
As a member of the most successful class in women's basketball history, Kearns guided led the Valiants to three New York State championships, multiple years with national rankings and an 84-42 record over four seasons that includes the only three 20-win seasons in program history. In her senior season, the Valiants won a program-record 23 games, made the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and spent all season with a national ranking, reaching as high as third nationally in the NCAA.
Kearns was also a four-year letterwinner on the field hockey team for Manhattanville, helping that team reach new heights as well. After reaching the semifinals of the New York State AIAW Div. III Championships as a junior, the Valiants were nationally ranked early in Kearns' senior year, in which she co-captained the squad and led it in all major categories with eight goals and eight assists for 24 points. She scored at least 14 goals and 14 assists for 42 points during her time with the team playing primarily as a halfback.
