Boxscore

ANNVILLE, Pa. - Despite four scorers in double figures, the Manhattanville women's basketball team fell at #17/18 Lebanon Valley College, 78-70, on Thursday evening in a non-conference meeting at the LVC gym.

Sophomore Taylor Wilson (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) led all players with 21 points on 6-of-10 from the outside and 3-of-4 from the line. Senior point guard Carey Hickey (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) pitched in with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and made all four free throws.

Closing in on the 1,000-point plateau, senior Simona Gordon (Cambridge, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) scored all 13 of her points in the second half and had three steals. The reigning Freedom Player of the Week is just 12 points away from becoming the 10th player in program history to reach the career milestone. Rounding out the Valiants' four-player scoring threat was junior Courtney Turner (Staten Island, N.Y./Ralph McKee), who added 12 points with two three-pointers.

Lebanon Valley finished the game with five players in double figures as Renee Fritz led her team with 18 points on a perfect 8-of-8 from the field along with two free throws. Andrea Hoover had 13 points and four assists, while reserve guard Lauren Ruhl had 12 points in 24 minutes. Tierney Hiltz and Suzie Noyes each finished with 10 points, while Noyes added 10 rebounds to complete the double-double.

In a game of inside-outside shooting, LVC shot 51 percent from the field and 83 percent from the line, while the Valiants scored a majority of their points from the outside, connecting on 12-of-23 shots from beyond the arc.  

The battle of the glass went in favor of the home team, as they used their size and strength to outrebound the Valiants, 38-24.

Manhattanville started the contest with a pair of three-pointers to take a 6-4 lead with baskets from Wilson and Hickey. The Dutchwomen then went on a 9-0 run culminating with a layup by Caitlin Bach to take a 15-6 lead with 13:32 left in the half. 

The visiting team responded with a mini 5-0 run with a jumper by senior Kaitlin Degnan (Irvington, N.Y./Irvington) and another long-distance shot from Wilson to cut the deficit to 15-11. The energetic Wilson nailed her third three-pointer of the half to cut the deficit to a single possession at 16-14, before junior Kelli Hyjek (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) tied the contest 16-16 with a jumper with 8:44 left.   

The Valiants took a three-point lead after Wilson hit her fourth trifecta of the half and then after a layup by Fritz nailed her fifth and final of the half as the Valiants led 22-18 with 7:16 remaining in the opening stanza.  

LVC took the lead for the final four minutes of the half and led by as many as eight (36-28) with one minute remaining on jumper by Caitlin Murphy. Trailing by eight at the half, Wilson led all cagers with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting - all from the outside. Hoover paced her team with nine points at the intermission.

The Flying Dutchwomen added to their lead with a layup by Fritz to take a 46-33 edge with 14:42 remaining. But the Valiants did not go away and used an 11-0 run to take cut the deficit to 46-44 with a trio of long-distance shots by Gordon, Hickey and Turner and a pair of free throws by freshman Beranda Felder (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood).

However, the nationally ranked home squad was determined not to have their party spoiled and responded with an 8-0 run of their own to regain a 10-point lead on a basket by Hiltz.  The Valiants made every effort to make a late comeback, but perfect 10-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe in the final minutes of the game secured the LVC victory.

Manhattanville (7-5, 1-1 Freedom) willl return back the court on Saturday afternoon in a Freedom Conference matinee at Wilkes beginning at 1 p.m. Lebanon Valley (11-1, 2-0 Commonwealth) will head to Arcadia for a 1 p.m. Commonwealth Conference meeting.