Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville women's basketball team fell behind early and came roaring back, posting a 41-point swing to turn an early 14-point deficit into a 27-point victory in a 80-53 defeat of Wilkes on Saturday afternoon at Kennedy Gym.
The Valiants were led by senior guard
Courtney Turner (Staten Island, N.Y./Ralph McKee), who had 16 points off the bench, while senior Kelli Hyjek, junior
Jennifer McSharar (Garnerville, N.Y./North Rockland) and freshman
KellyAnn Sullivan (Amity Harbor, N.Y./Copiague) all finished the game with 10 apiece.
Wilkes jumped out quick, taking little time to open an 8-0 lead by taking advantage of Manhattanville's miscues and missed shots. Hyjek finally broke the streak and made the score 8-2 on a fast-break layup, but that was followed up by eight more unanswered points by the Colonels as they took a commanding 16-2 lead with 14:06 remaining in the first half.
The Valiants did not quit and began to stage a comeback, going on a 17-3 run of their own to tie the game at 19 with the last basket falling with 7:03 remaining on a layup by McSharar. The two sides exchanged baskets for the remainder of the half, with the Valiants getting the final three points of the period on a layup by Turner and a free throw with under a second left by senior guard Stephanie Vaiano (South Ozone Park, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy).
Just as Wilkes began the first period with an impressive run, Manhattanville had one of their own to open the second period, capped off by a jumper from Sullivan. The Valiants got their lead all the way up to 17 after junior guard Taylor Wilson (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) hit a pair of free throws with 13:20 remaining. After the Colonels hit a three pointer to trim the deficit to 52-38, Manhattanville went on yet another double-figure run as they had 16 unanswered points to inflate the lead up to 30 points.
After a mini seven-point run by Wilkes, the two teams exchanged blows for the remainder of the game, with Manhattanville leading the run at 12-8 to finish off the game. The scoring was capped off by sophomore Beranda Felder (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood), who hit four straight from the charity stripe to cap off the comeback and the 80-53 win.
On the boards, Hyjek and McSharar each fell one rebound shy of double-doubles as they both finished the game with nine, while Felder added eight of her own in just eight minutes off the bench. The Valiants also finished the game shooting 47.8% from the field while the Colonels struggled with a 29.8 field goal percentage.
Manhattanville (6-8, 1-3 Freedom) will be back in action this Wednesday when they travel to Doylestown, Pa. to take on Delaware Valley at 6:00 p.m. with all the action being brought to you on WMVL 88.1 FM. Wilkes (4-10, 0-4 Freedom) will look to regroup and come back at crosstown rival King's (Pa.) on Wednesday also at 6:00 p.m.
