PURCHASE, N.Y.- Junior Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King) tallied a career-high 22 points for the Manhattanville women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon, helping the Valiants take down Misericordia by a final score of 89-62 in Freedom Conference play.
 
Raaf shot a stifling 75 percent (9-of-12) from the floor for Manhattanville (10-5, 1-3 Freedom), guiding the Valiants to their first Freedom Conference win of the season. Three other Valiants also finished in double-figures, including senior Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour), finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the victory over Misericordia (0-15, 0-3 Freedom). Senior Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) and junior Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) scored 13 and 12, respectively.
 
For the Cougars, Lauren Smicherko led the way offensively, registering 21 points while Shelby Brochetti added an additional 17 points off the bench. The Valiants caused 26 Misericordia turnovers in the contest, converting into 30 points, proving to be the difference-maker in the contest.
 
Despite the Valiants scoring the first four points of the game, the first half was played relatively close from both sides. After five lead changes and two ties up until the 7:12 mark, the Valiants started to make due from Misericordia mistakes. Head coach Kate Vlahakis elected to take a 30-second timeout as the team trailed 24-21 and it ended up flipping the switch for Manhattanville. After the timeout, the Valiants went on a 19-4 run, jumping out to a 40-28 lead with under a minute left in the first half. Manhattanville eventually went into halftime controlling a 42-33 lead.
 
Unselfish play and stellar defense paved the way for Manhattanville in the second half, as the Valiants utilized a team effort to pull away. The closest Misericordia would come to the Valiants in the second half was seven points, which came after the opening basket of the half. After six straight points from Caiazzo and a four-point play from Franklin, Manhattanville never looked back. The four-point play from Franklin gave the Valiants a 52-37 lead at the 16:36 mark, sparking the team offensively. Manhattanville continued to surge past Misericordia for the remainder of the contest, defeating the Cougars by a final score of 89-62.
 
The Valiants will travel for their next game as they take on Eastern on Wednesday night at 6 p.m in another Freedom Conference matchup. Follow us on Twitter @MVilleValiants for live updates during the game.