ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Senior
Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King) scored 16 points in the first half to help Manhattanville build a lead that they would not relinquish as the Valiants defeated Eastern University 73-61 Saturday afternoon to clinch a spot in the MAC Freedom playoffs for the first time in five seasons.
"This has been a hard fought year by this entire team," said head coach
Kate Vlahakis. "We have used the word grit to define ourselves this season and I wouldn't pick a better adjective for this group as I look back on the season thus far. We still have games left and we are still focused on those, one game at a time. I am so proud of where this group started and how they persevered through the year to end up at this point."
The Valiants currently sit tied for third place in the conference standings with Delaware Valley University. Both squads have two conference matchups left, with the Valiants set to take on first place DeSales University and then round out the season against Misericordia University on Senior Day. The Aggies will face King's College and then round out their season against second place FDU-Florham next weekend. Currently with the two squads tied, Manhattanville would be the number four seed, with Delaware Valley holding the tiebreaker thanks to two victories against the Valiants this season.
Raaf led Manhattanville (16-6 overall, 8-4 MAC Freedom) with 20 points on a day where five players reached double figures for the Valiants. Senior
Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) and sophomore
Candice Scott-Mason (Trenton, N.J./Ewing) each netted 12 points, senior
Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) scored 11, and freshman
Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) added ten points off the bench for Manhattanville.
One huge key for the Valiants Saturday was their success from the free-throw line. Manhattanville shot 92 percent from the charity stripe on the afternoon, including a perfect 11 for 11 in the final quarter.
The Valiants built a 16-point lead at the halftime break behind Raaf's 16 points in the half. Manhattanville was red-hot from the field, shooting nearly 50 percent while holding the Eagles (11-12 overall, 5-7 MAC Freedom) to just 33 percent shooting.
Manhattanville would continue to roll in the second half, with Eastern never coming within eight points of the lead.
The Valiants return home for three games this week to end the regular season, starting off with a big matchup against DeSales University Tuesday night. Manhattanville will then host Saint Joseph Thursday night in a non-conference matchup before squaring off against Misericordia on Senior Day Saturday afternoon.
