Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville women's basketball team put together a strong second half against undefeated Wheaton (Mass.), but the Valiants still fell to the Lyons on Tuesday night by a final score of 64-53 at Kennedy Gym.
 
Led by junior Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour) finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds, the Valiants were unable to take down the unbeaten Lyons.
 
Despite shooting 36.1 percent (22-61) from the floor including a poor 12 percent (3-25) mark from beyond the arc, the Lyons had four players finish with double digits helping pave the way. The difference for Wheaton was its strong first half outscoring the Valiants by more than 17 headed into halftime. 
 
Manhattanville had its only lead of the game at the 17:36 mark after Caiazzo banked in a layup to make it 4-2.  The Valiants kept it close for the first 10 minutes of the game until the Lyons started to pour it on. Wheaton went on a 15-2 run with 7:50 remaining in the first half and held a 23-8 lead.
 
Abbie Brickley led the Lyons by scoring all 12 of her points in the first half. The Valiants struggled to get anything going offensively and went into the locker room down 36-19 at the half.
 
Manhattanville came out strong in the second half but could not outperform the strong first half of the Lyons.
 
Freshman Candice Scott-Mason (Trenton, N.J./Ewing) scored two of her nine total points after connecting on a jumper to start off the second half. Both teams exchanged baskets early in the second half as the Valiants were hustling to make up from their halftime deficit.

After a made three-point basket from Kirsten Ferrari, the Lyons took a 41-25 lead with 15:42 remaining. The Valiants answered Ferrari's three by going on a 6-0 run to pull within nine as 13:31 remained on the clock, making it 41-32.
 
 The Valiants saw some life at the 10:28 mark when junior Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) knocked down a three to pull Manhattanville within eight, 45-37.  The Lyons did not seem to be phased by any Valiant pursuit as they continued to answer with baskets late in the game.
 
The closest Manhattanville came to Wheaton was after a made layup by Caiazzo, pulling the Valiants within seven as only 57 seconds remained. The comeback was too little too late as the Lyons depth overwhelmed the Valiants, proving to be too much.
 
The Valiants shot 39.3 percent (24-61) overall from the floor, but an effective 50 percent (15-30) in the second half.

Manhattanville will play away on Thursday against William Paterson at 7:00 p.m. Live stats can be found on GoValiants.com.