PURCHASE, N.Y. – The senior trio of
Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career),
Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington), and
Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King) combined for 57 points Tuesday evening but it was not enough to slow down DeSales University as the Valiants fell to the Bulldogs 82-72 in Kennedy Gymnasium.
The loss pushes Manhattanville (16-7 overall, 8-5 MAC Freedom) back into fourth place in the conference standings, setting up the possibility of a rematch between the two teams in the first round of the postseason next week. Third place Delaware Valley had the night off as their matchup against King's was pushed back to tomorrow night. The Aggies currently sit a half game up on Manhattanville in a battle for the three seed.
Franklin led Manhattanville scorers with 23 points on the night, with Pabon and Raaf each tallying 16 points for the Valiants. Raaf had another big night on the floor, nearly recording a triple-double with nine rebounds and seven assists to compliment her 16 points. The big night from the trio was overshadowed however by DeSales' (18-6 overall, 11-2 MAC Freedom) Morgan McCollian, who netted a career-high 33 points on the night.
The Bulldogs jumped out to the early lead Tuesday, building a seven-point lead in the first four minutes of the contest. The Valiants would stop the run however, finishing the quarter six of fourteen from the floor and headed into the second quarter trailing by nine.
The Valiants showed a spark of offense to begin the second period, beginning with a 6-0 run, with each member of the trio tallying two points in the first two and a half minutes of play. Manhattanville forced four DeSales turnovers during the stretch and was able to cut the lead down to as little as three points at the 7:28 mark of the quarter.
DeSales would rally once again at the end of the half, outscoring the Valiants by eight over the final seven minutes to take an 11-point lead into halftime. Megan Baird led the charge with seven points and Jen Napolitano capped off the run with a three-pointer with three seconds remaining in the half.
DeSales would begin the second half much like they ended the first, using a big scoring stretch to build the lead up to 19 points with 5:17 to play in the third quarter. It was Manhattanville answering this time however, using a 16-4 run to cut the deficit to seven points with 7:50 to play in the final quarter. Pabon and Raaf each scored five points over that stretch, and freshman
Jade Wyatt (St. Louis, Mo./Dillard) scored four points off the bench to help cut into the lead.
The Bulldogs used a seven-point run of their own over the next 75 seconds to double the lead once again and go up 66-52 with 5:50 to play. Manhattanville would make things interesting however, using a 16-7 run over three and a half minutes to cut the deficit to five. Franklin netted six points including a huge play where she hauled in an offensive rebound off of a foul shot, and converted a three-point play to cap the run. Sophomore
Joiada Darnell (St. Albans, N.Y./Humanities and the Arts) added four points during the stretch and Wyatt hit two free-throws to help make it a two-possession game.
The Valiants had one last opportunity with 30 seconds to play, but Pabon missed a three-pointer which would have made it a one-possession game. The Bulldogs would hit five of seven free-throws to seal the win.
Manhattanville returns to action Thursday when they host Saint Joseph in a non-conference matchup before finishing off the regular season with a matchup against Misericordia on Senior Day in what could determine the team's seeding in the postseason.
