Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville women's basketball team struggled to find any offensive rhythm against Eastern on Wednesday night, falling by a final score of 79-51 in the team's first Freedom Conference game of the season at Kennedy Gym.
Manhattanville could not tame the hot hands of the Eagles, led by Meghan Nowak with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Nowak was helped by teammates Emily Lavin and Kaityln Dougherty, who finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Despite having three players finish in double figures, the Valiants struggled to get much going offensively, finishing the night shooting a rough 31.8 percent (21-66) from the floor. Junior
Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour) led the team with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while junior
Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) and freshman
Candice Scott-Mason (Trenton, N.J./Ewing) both finished with 10 points apiece.
The game was controlled by Eastern as soon as it started. The Eagles jumped out to a 19-1 run in the first 11 minutes, as the Valiants did not score their first field goal until Pabon connected on a fast-break layup with 9:01 left in the first half.
The Valiants looked as if they had some life in them after sophomore
Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) knocked down a three-pointer with 7:56 left, pulling Manhattanville within 13 at 21-8. But Eastern proved to be too much for the Valiants to handle as they took a 42-19 lead into halftime.
The Eagles started off the second half just as hot as they started off the first by bouncing out on a 14-0 run. Eastern continued to pull away as the Valiants did everything they could to fight back. Manhattanville continued to fight throughout the contest, however, closing the game on a 24-9 run.
Manhattanville struggled from the floor by shooting 31.8 percent (21 of 66), while Eastern shot an impressive 54.1 percent (33 of 61) including a 45.0 percent (9-20) mark from beyond the arc.
The Valiants fall to 1-5 overall (0-1 Freedom) and will travel to Dallas Pa., on Saturday to face off against Freedom Conference opponent Misericordia at 1:00 p.m. Live stats and live video can be found on GoValiants.com.
