PURCHASE, N.Y.- The Manhattanville women's basketball team struggled to gather rhythm offensively on Wednesday night, falling to Delaware Valley by a final score of 76-55 in Freedom Conference play.
 
Manhattanville (9-5, 0-3 Freedom) only trailed Delaware Valley (6-8, 1-2 Freedom) by five at halftime before the Aggies utilized a strong second half to pull away. Despite having three players finish in double-figures, the Valiants committed 25 turnovers, turning into 25 points for Delaware Valley. Juniors Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) and Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King) finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
 
For the Aggies, Eireann Anastasi led the way, scoring a game-high 22 points in the contest, putting her only three points away from scoring 1,000 points. Helping Anastasi offensively was Shannon Barlow, finishing with 18 points, shooting 8-of-11 from the floor.
 
After taking a 2-0 lead just a minute into the game, Delaware Valley would never trail for the remainder of the contest. The Aggies shot an effective 56.6 percent (30-53) from the floor, utilizing good looks at the basket to shoot efficiently over the Valiant defense. Knocking down shots early, Delaware Valley took an early 11-5 lead over Manhattanville with 16:36 remaining in the first half.
 
Manhattanville did not go away early as the Valiants seemed to have an answer to Delaware Valley for majority of the first half. After trailing 21-15 at the 8:28 mark, a layup from Raaf followed by a three-point play from sophomore Sarah Kelley (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) brought the game within one. Despite the Valiants pulling within one point, the Aggies jumped out on an 8-0 run, taking a 29-20 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the half. Both teams exchanged baskets for the remainder of the first half as the Aggies held a 35-30 lead.
 
As the second half got going, the Aggies offense got going as well. Delaware Valley started the second half by going on a 17-4 run, taking a 52-34 lead with just under 15 minutes to go. For the Valiants, senior Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour) struggled for majority of the contest. Despite hauling in 10 rebounds, the Valiants' leading scorer only finished with two points as the Delaware Valley defense smothered her inside the paint.
 
Delaware Valley led by as many as 26 points before picking up its first Freedom Conference win by a final score of 76-55. The Valiants still look for their first conference victory on the season after the loss.
 
The Valiants will take on Misericordia at home on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both live video and live stats are available via GoValiants.com