PURCHASE, N.Y.- Despite having three players finish in double-figures, including a 26-point effort from junior Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career), the Manhattanville women's basketball team was unable to close out Wilkes on Saturday afternoon, falling by a final score of 87-82 in Freedom Conference play.
 
The loss for Manhattanville (10-9, 1-7 Freedom) essentially puts them out of playoff contention, as Wilkes (8-9, 3-5 Freedom) came into today's contest a game ahead of the Valiants. Franklin was lights out for Manhattanville, finishing with 26 points, knocking down six three-pointers. Helping Franklin offensively were seniors Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) and Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour), scoring 21 and 19 points, respectively. Pabon added seven steals defensively while Caiazzo tallied a game-high 16 rebounds.
 
For the Colonels, four players finished in double-figures, led by 20-point performances from both Elena Stambone and Cara Basile. Basile played a major role for Wilkes coming off the bench, applying support to the Colonels' second-half surge.  The Colonels' bench outscored Manhattanville's bench 38-5 in the contest, proving to be the difference-maker for Wilkes.
 
The Valiants jumped out of the gate early on Wilkes, scoring the first eight points of the contest in the opening two minutes of play. Manhattanville led for majority of the contest, but Wilkes was constantly able to battle back, closing out any deficit the team faced. Stambone scored 10 of the first 12 Colonels points, helping Wilkes close out its early deficit. With just over 13 minutes left in the first half, the Valiants held a one-point lead, 15-14. The Colonels eventually took their first lead of the game after a three-point play from Basile at the 12:48 mark, making it 17-15 in favor of the Colonels.
 
Despite trailing by two points early in the contest, Manhattanville did not trail for much of the game. With the impressive first half from Franklin, the Valiants eventually took their lead back just seconds later when it was Franklin knocking down a three. The junior finished the first half with 20 points, causing all sorts of issues to the Wilkes defense. The Valiants continued stringing together solid offensive looks, leading them to an eight-point lead with 20 seconds left in the first half, 44-36. Wilkes made due with the time winding down, as Basile connected on a buzzer-beater three, cutting the Valiant lead to 44-39 at the half.
 
Manhattanville started the second half by continuing to expand its halftime lead. A good layup from sophomore Sarah Kelley (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) followed by another three-pointer from Franklin gave the Valiants a 49-41 lead at the 18:11 mark. The Valiants eventually led by as many as 11 points with 14:29 left until they started to see their lead slip away. For the entire second half, Wilkes was able to chip away at its deficit, utilizing foul trouble from the Valiants to pull close. After picking up her fourth foul with 11:48 left, Franklin was forced to sit on the bench for nearly five minutes, becoming a problem for Manhattanville. With Franklin on the bench, Wilkes was able to pull within one point after a free throw from Chelsea Brown. As only five minutes remained, the Valiants found their lead stretch back to five after a layup on the inside from Caiazzo. The 78-73 lead for Manhattanville was evidently not secure as Wilkes then scored the next six points, taking its first lead of the second half with 2:21 left, 79-78. The Colonels finished the game on a 14-4 run before defeating the Valiants by a final score of 87-82.
 
The Valiants will travel for their next game to take on Delaware Valley in Freedom Conference play on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.