Box Score DALLAS, Pa. – The Manhattanville women's basketball team lost its second straight Freedom Conference game of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling to Misericordia by a final score of 72-56.
 
Despite having three players in double figures, the Valiants failed to hold off a strong second half by the Cougars. Led by junior Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour), who finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, the Valiants struggled to keep up with Misericordia late in the game.
 
The difference for the Cougars was the major presence of their bench. Misericordia had four players finish in double digits with two of them coming off the bench. Led by Shannon Croasdale and Sam Boro, who finished with 14 and 13 points respectively, the Cougars tallied 30 bench points compared to the 5 from Manhattanville.
 
The Cougars started off the game by scoring the first five points, but the Valiants battled back. Manhattanville took its first lead at the 15:03 mark when sophomore Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King) connected on a layup for two of her 10 points to make it 7-6.
 
Manhattanville led by five points on three separate occasions in the first half, including 24-19 with 1:58 remaining when freshman Candice Scott-Mason (Trenton, N.J./Ewing) knocked down a jumper for two of her 11 total points. The Cougars rattled off five straight points to tie the game up at 24 points apiece as both team headed into the locker rooms at halftime.
 
The Cougars came out firing from all cylinders in the second half and jumped out on a 16-2 run, taking a 40-26 lead with 15:14 left to play. The closest the Valiants would come to the Cougars was when Raaf made a layup with 10:38 remaining to pull within 10.  Misericordia led by as many as 20 in the second half, outscoring the Valiants 48-32 in the half.
 
The Valiants shot 40.4 percent (23-57) from the floor while the Cougars shot 46.0 percent (29-63). Misericordia also scored 20 points off 21 Manhattanville turnovers that helped give the Cougars an extra edge.
 
Manhattanville will play next against Wheaton (Mass.) on December 17 in a non-conference matchup at Kennedy Gym starting at 6:00 p.m. Live stats and live video can be accessed through GoValiants.com.