Boxscore

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senior guard Simona Gordon (Cambridge, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) finished with a game-high 23 points and was named the MVP of the 2011 CUA/Fairfield Inn Holiday Tournament as the Manhattanville women's basketball team defeated the host Catholic University Cardinals, 75-68, in the Championship Game on Sunday evening at DuFour gym.

For the Valiants this is the first time in program history that they won two in-season tournaments, with the first coming in November as they won the Salem State Tip-Off Tournament with impressive victories over nationally ranked Bowdoin (66-62) and host Salem State (75-61).   

Joining Gordon on the All-Tournament team was junior Kelli Hyjek (Tolland, Conn./Tolland), who finished with her first collegiate double-double as she scored a career-high 18 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.  Senior Kaitlin Degnan (Irvington, N.Y./Irvington) and sophomore Jennifer McSharar (Garnerville, N.Y./North Rockland) also contributed, scoring eight points each, while junior Courtney Turner (Staten Island, N.Y./Ralph McKee) had 10 points all in the second half. Gordon also helped on the glass as she tied a career-high with 11 rebounds along with six assists.  

The Valiants dominated the rebounding category for the second consecutive contest as they outrebounded their opposition, 58-45. The team scored 18 second chance points in the contest and were able to pull down 22 offensive boards, with Hyjek leading the way with seven offensive boards and six second-chance points.

Catholic held a six-point advantage with 3:46 remaining in the contest but a combination of poor shooting and bad fouls allowed the Valiants back in the game. The Cardinals shot 1-of-8 in the final 3:26 of the contest as the Valiants ended the game on a 15-2 run. Gordon tied the contest and gave her team the lead with a pair of free throws with 1:55 remaining in the game as Manhattanville shot 7-of-8 down the stretch from the line.

Although free throws were a large part of the victory, the Valiants at times struggled early in the contest, but finished at 56 percent from the line and 15-of-21 from the stripe in the second half.

Neither team held more than a two-possession lead in the early stages of the first half with Catholic taking its largest lead by five points with 16:19 remaining in the half, as Jenny McGann gave the host a 13-8 advantage after hitting a jumper.

Manhattanville responded with a 6-0 run with baskets from McSharar, Hyjek and Gordon. The visiting squad took a seven-point edge late in the half with a lay-up by Degnan to give them a 37-30 lead with 2:46 left. Heading into the locker room, the visiting team's cushion was six points (40-34) as Gordon led the team with 14 points in 19 minutes.

McSharar was a key contributor on the glass in the first stanza with nine rebounds and senior point guard Carey Hickey (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) had four assists and three steals. McGann led her team with 10 points, but the Cardinals struggled from the field shooting 31 percent compared to the 47 percent of the Valiants.

Manhattanville remained in the lead for a large portion of the final half and jumped out to a nine-point advantage, 49-40, with 14:36 left on a jumper by Turner. Seven minutes later, the host team regained the lead on a three-pointer by McGann as a 23-11 run by the Cardinals gave them a 63-60 advantage. Catholic added three more points to their run before finishing the game on a 2:48 scoring drought.  

Manhattanville (7-4, 1-1 Freedom) will take on #19 Lebanon Valley College on Thursday in a Freedom/Commonwealth non-conference matchup in Annville, Pa., beginning at 7 p.m. Fans that can't make it to the game can listen live on WMVL 88.1 FM and GoValiants.com with the pre-game show beginning at 6:45 p.m. Catholic (8-3) will take on Juniata on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m.