PURCHASE, N.Y.- Led by four players finishing with 15 points or more, the Manhattanville women's basketball team defeated SUNY Old Westbury on Saturday afternoon, beating the Panthers in non-conference play by a final score of 76-60.
 
The starting five for Manhattanville (7-4) combined for 69 of the 76 points scored against Old Westbury (6-5), including a game-high 18 points from junior Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King). Senior Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour) tallied 16 points and 17 rebounds for the Valiants while classmate Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) and junior Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) each finished with 15 points.
 
For the Panthers, Jasmine Robinson and Ruth Vargas led the way offensively, scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively. Although Old Westbury's bench outscored the Manhattanville bench by 22 points, the Valiant starters were the difference in the contest.
 
The Valiants trailed only once against the Panthers, occurring in the first four minutes as Old Westbury held a 6-4 lead. After a fast break layup from Franklin, the Valiants went on a 6-0 run, taking an 11-6 lead at the 14:39 mark. The Panthers had an answer early, scoring five unanswered points to tie the game at 11. Manhattanville continued to try and pull away, but Old Westbury was able to chip away at any deficit in the first half. Utilizing a 9-4 run, the Valiants went up 20-15 with under nine minutes left in the first.
 
Despite having three fouls in the first half, Raaf continued to be a problem for the Panthers.  The junior knocked down a trifecta, starting a 7-0 run, giving the Valiants a double-digit lead at 27-17 with under six minutes remaining in the first. The 10-point lead was not enough as Old Westbury jumped out on a 12-2 run, tying the game at 29 at the 2:28 mark. Two free throws from Franklin at the end of the first half is what led to the Valiants holding a 33-31 lead at halftime.
 
Manhattanville came out firing in the second half, scoring the first eight points, putting its lead back to 10, 41-31. Sophomore Alyson Chase (Chaplin, Conn./Pomfret School) and Pabon knocked down shots from beyond the arc in the early second half run. Unlike the first half, the Panthers did not seem to have an answer to any deficit as the Valiants continued to pour it on. The closest the Panthers could pull within Manhattanville in the second half was eight points with just over 16 minutes remaining.
 
In the second half, Manhattanville led by as many as 22 points before defeating Old Westbury by a final score of 76-60. With the 17 rebounds, Caiazzo is now only 13 rebounds away from closing in on 1,000 career boards at Manhattanville.
 
The Valiants will travel to take on Albertus Magnus on Thursday at 7 p.m. before playing their final non-conference game against Simmons on Saturday.