PURCHASE, N.Y.- Despite having three players finish in double figures on Wednesday night, the Manhattanville women's basketball team was unable to take down Freedom Conference foe DeSales, losing to the Bulldogs by a final score of 67-54.
 
Seniors Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour) and Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) each finished with 15 points for Manhattanville (4-2), but the Valiants struggled to gather offensive rhythm against DeSales (4-2), connecting on 19-of-55 (34.5%) shots from the floor. The Bulldogs' bench was the ultimate difference maker in the contest, outscoring Manhattanville's bench 22-2.
 
Morgan McCollian contested Caiazzo all night in the low post, tallying a game-high 16 points to go with 11 rebounds, as teammate Mikelyn MacKavage offered DeSales relief from the bench, scoring 14 points. Freshman sensation Leandra Sterner was a problem for the Valiants in the first half, manufacturing 14 points before being sidelined in the early moments of the second half, going down with a knee injury for the remainder of the game.
 
The Valiants came out fired up, jumping out to a 6-2 lead just three minutes into the game. Despite trailing early, the Bulldogs were consistently able to answer, coming mostly from their stellar shooting from beyond the arc. A 9-of-20 shooting effort from three paved the way for DeSales, starting in the first half as the Bulldogs knocked down four trifectas in a row to take a 14-12 lead with 14:09 left in the first.
 
DeSales continued to stretch out the Manhattanville defense, finding both looks inside the paint and outside, increasing its lead to seven with 10 minutes remaining until halftime. A 12-6 run from the Valiants in a span of seven minutes tied the ball game up at 27 with just over three minutes remaining. Sterner continued to cause issues for Manhattanville in the first half as the freshman was able to string together multiple baskets, helping give DeSales a 35-31 lead at the half.
 
Manhattanville started off the second half with consecutive three pointers, coming from sophomore Alyson Chase (Chaplin, Conn./Pomfret School) and Pabon, tying the game at 37 just two minutes in. Sterner's injury came early in the opening minutes of the second half, but did not prove to be a problem for the Bulldogs for the remainder of the contest. MacKavage started to take over offensively for Sterner, knocking down three after three, pulling the Bulldogs away to a 48-39 lead with 14 minutes left. DeSales led for the remainder of the game as the Valiants were constantly trying to chip away.
 
The Valiants came within four points with under six minutes left, but DeSales continued to heckle Manhattanville on the low post, hauling in multiple offensive rebounds, scoring 14 second chance points. McCollian continued to be a problem late in the game for Manhattanville, as the Valiants struggled to get past her inside presence. DeSales continued to extend its lead in the final moments of the game before beating Manhattanville by a final score of 67-54.
 
The Valiants will travel to take on Freedom Conference opponent Wilkes on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. Both live video and live stats can be accessed via GoValiants.com.