WILKES-BARRE, Pa.- Senior Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) was unable to beat the buzzer on a last-second shot for the win on Saturday afternoon, as the Manhattanville women's basketball team was defeated by Wilkes by a final score of 68-67 in Freedom Conference play.
 
Despite having three players finish in double figures, Manhattanville (4-3, 0-2 Freedom) had 28 turnovers in its loss against Wilkes (4-2, 1-1 Freedom), hurting the Valiants in the long run. For the Colonels, Elena Stambone finished with a game-high 28 points, including a 4-of-7 effort from beyond the arc.
 
Junior Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King) led the way for the Valiants with a team-high 17 points while senior Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour) and junior Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) each finished with 13 points. Caiazzo also grabbed 18 rebounds and dished out six assists in the Manhattanville loss.
 
The Colonels jumped out early on Manhattanville, scoring the first five points of the game until the Valiants answered. Caiazzo and Raaf strung together some baskets, tying the game up at five only four minutes in. Both sides exchanged baskets for majority of the first half until the Colonels started to catch fire with seven minutes left in the first half. After a made jumper by Raaf to pull Manhattanville within one point at 22-21, the Colonels scored seven straight points, taking a 29-21 lead with under six minutes left in the first.
 
Manhattanville continued to chip away at any Wilkes lead for the remainder of the first half, pulling within two points before three straight baskets by the Colonels extended their lead back to eight at halftime, 37-29.
 
Stambone started out the second half strong for the Colonels, knocking down two straight shots, extending the Wilkes lead to 12 just a minute into the half, 41-29. Trailing by 12, the Valiants turned to Raaf to get them back into the ball game, as the junior manufactured points on some open looks at the basket, helping bring the game within four points at the 16:45 mark, 41-37. Stambone's electric effort from beyond the arc made any attempt at a comeback a tough one for Manhattanville, but the Valiants refused to back down.
 
After two consecutive trifectas from Stambone, Wilkes retook a nine-point lead with 15:17 left, 50-41. Again it was Raaf cutting the deficit back to four after a made layup followed by a three-pointer, making it 50-46 with just over 14 minutes left. Despite the solid effort from Raaf, costly Manhattanville turnovers proved to be a problem as the Colonels continued getting looks at the basket, extending their lead back to 10 with just under 12 minutes left. The Valiants trailed for majority of the game until sparking an impressive comeback that eventually tied the game up with just over a minute left.
 
The Valiants trailed 62-53 with 5:55 remaining, but started to gather rhythm offensively, taking advantage of Wilkes late. A 12-3 run from Manhattanville tied the game up at 65 with 1:23 left before the game was eventually tied again at 67 with under a minute left. Stambone knocked down the go-ahead free throw with only nine seconds remaining, giving the Valiants enough time to find a good look at the basket for the win. Coming out of a Manhattanville timeout, Pabon took the ball down the floor, pulling up for a desperation shot that ended up being no good, giving Wilkes its first conference victory of the season by a final score of 68-67.
 
Manhattanville will take on non-conference opponent Farmingdale State at home on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Both live video and live stats are available via GoValiants.com.