Boxscore

WILLIMANTIC, CONN. -  Junior guard Courtney Turner (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished the contest with 11 points as the Manhattanville women's basketball team fell to Eastern Connecticut State University, 67-36, in a non-conference match on Saturday afternoon at Geissler Gym.

The Valiants struggled from the field in the contest, making 12 field goals but shot 71 percent from the free throw line shooting 10-of-14.  As a team, the Valiants had five steals and turned the ball over just nine times.

For Eastern Connecticut, four players finished in double-figures with three on the scoring side and one on the rebounding side of the score sheet.  Lauren Kelleher led all scorers with 17 points on 8-of-11 from the field and also had nine rebounds.  Tanisha Carter finished with 11 points and six rebounds and Amanda Pierlioni had 10 points and six rebounds. On the glass, Piper Chapman led all players with 14 rebounds with seven coming from both sides of the glass.  The Warriors shot 41 percent from the field, 31 percent from the outside and 43 percent from the free throw line.

The Valiants scored the first points of the game, as junior Kelli Hyjek (Tolland, Conn.) hit a lay-up off a transition.  Both squads' traded baskets for a majority of the early part of the first half, along with a four minute scoring drought that ended with a lay-up by Kelleher to give the Warriors a 7-4 lead with 11:50 remaining.  The Valiants took two separate leads during the half, but a backend free throw by sophomore Janetta Arnold (Windsor, Conn.) tied the contest at 15 with 5:12 remaining. 

Eastern Connecticut followed the made free throw by Arnold with a 7-0 run and took 22-15 advantage with 3:55 remaining in the half with a lay-up by Kelleher. Senior guard Simona Gordon (Cambridge, Mass.) cut the deficit to five with a tip-in on the next possession, but the home team finished out the half with their second 7-0 run of the game to take a 12-point lead at the half, 29-17, over the Valiants.

The Valiants shot 23 percent from the field in the opening half and struggled from the three-point line making 1-of-8 from the outside.  The Warriors owned the glass 29-13 in the half and had double-digit rebounds on both the offensive and defensive side of the glass.  Leading the Valiants after the first 20 minutes of the contest was the trio of Hyjek, Arnold and junior Courtney Turner (Staten Island, N.Y.) with four points each. Kelleher led the Warriors with 11 points off the bench and was followed by Pierlioni with eight points. Chapman led with nine rebounds and was a key component of the home team's dominance on the glass.

Eastern Connecticut dominated the second half, outscoring the Valiants, 38-19, and went on a 14-4 run to begin the half. The host took their largest lead of the contest late in the final period leading by as many as 33 points with under a minute remaining in the game. Carter scored nine of her 11 points in the final half, as the home team shot 47 percent from the field. The Valiants scored six of their 19 points from the charity stripe and eight of their 12 points from inside the paint.

Manhattanville (2-2, 0-0 Freedom) will take on Ramapo College on Monday evening across the river at 7 p.m.  There will be a free audio broadcast live on GoValiants.com and WMVL 88.1 FM beginning at 6:45 p.m. on Monday. Eastern Connecticut (4-0) will host Vassar College on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.