DALLAS, PA – The Manhattanville College women's basketball team came away with a 55-53 win over Misericordia on Saturday afternoon in MAC Freedom play.

The Valiants saw their 15 point fourth quarter lead turn into a 53-53 tie late in the game. With less than two minutes left, freshman forward Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) netted the eventual game-winning bucket on a lay-up. The Valiants were able to hold off numerous Cougar offensive opportunities to hold on for the two-point victory.

Manhattanville got off to a hot start outscoring Misericordia 23-11 in the first quarter. The Valiants opened up the second with an 8-3 run to extend their lead to 17. The Cougars would end the half scoring eight of the next 10 points to cut into the deficit.

A big key to Manhattanville's hot start was some excellent shooting and stifling defense. The Valiants shot 43 percent in the first half and held Misericordia to just 21 percent shooting and forced 10 turnovers.

The Cougars would not go away though as Misericordia continued to chip away at the lead but Mcguire's lay-up and some good defense down the stretch helped lead the Valiants to the conference win.

Misericordia (5-10, 1-3 MAC Freedom) failed to take the lead the entire game and shot just 26 percent from the field. Junior Justine Seely led the Cougars with 15 points while also grabbing eight rebounds. Fellow classmate Shannon Croasdale chipped in 12 points as well as recording eight boards.

Manhattanville (10-4, 2-2 MAC Freedom) shot 35 percent from the field. A big key to the conference victory was the Valiants ability to turn 18 Cougar turnovers into 25 points. Senior Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King) scored a team-high 15 points while senior Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) and sophomore Candice Scott-Mason (Trenton, N.J./Ewing) each accounted for 10 points while McGuire added eight. Sophomore Joiada Darnell (St. Albans, N.Y./Humanities and the Arts) snagged a career-high 12 rebounds and senior Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) led the Valiants with seven assists.

Manhattanville will continue MAC Freedom action as the Valiants welcome Eastern to Kennedy Gymnasium on Wednesday at 6 p.m.