CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Despite battling back and forth for much of the first half, DeSales pulled away late as the Manhattanville College women's basketball team dropped their second MAC Freedom contest 65-40 Wednesday evening in Billera Hall.
Sophomore Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) led Manhattanville offensively with 15 points, including an impressive 9-10 from the free-throw line. Senior Sarah Kelley (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) netted seven points on 3-7 shooting while collecting six rebounds on the evening as well. Junior Joiada Darnell (St. Albans, N.Y./Humanities and the Arts) led the team in rebounds and assists with seven boards and two dimes in the losing effort.
Manhattanville battled with the Bulldogs in the first half, shooting 30 percent from the field, but were plagued by the turnover bug, committing 17 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action. The crimson and black struggled to find the shooting touch from outside, going 0-5 from beyond the arc in the half. The defense kept the Valiants in the contest however, causing nine turnovers and holding DeSales to just 30 percent shooting as well.
After scoring the first bucket of the game on a layup from junior Joiada Darnell (St. Albans, N.Y./Humanities and the Arts), DeSales used a 15-4 run over the next seven minutes to take a nine-point advantage late in the opening quarter. seniors Sarah Kelley (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) and Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) helped end the run with six points over the next three possessions to cut the deficit down to five points with one minute to play in the opening stanza. Two free-throws by the Bulldogs late gave the opposition a seven-point edge through ten minutes of action.
After a free-throw from Megan Baird made it an eight-point game, the Valiants chipped away over the next four minutes, making it a one-possession game at the 5:49 mark with a jumper from Deieso to make it a 21-18 game midway through the half. DeSales responded immediately once again, using a three-point play from Morgan Birmelin to ignite a 7-0 run to give DeSales their largest margin of the half 28-18. A jumper by sophomore Ivy Coles (Freeport, N.Y./Christ The King) with 1:42 remaining in the half proved to be the last point of the opening two quarters, making it a 30-21 contest at the halftime intermission.
It was another tough shooting quarter for Manhattanville in the third, shooting just 2-15 from the field but made up for it with 7-8 shooting from the free-throw line in the period. After staying with DeSales for the first half of the period, DeSales pulled away with a 12-0 run over 2:50, a stretch where Manhattanville went 0-6 shooting from the field. The run made it a 20-point game with 12:31 to play in the game. Despite falling behind, McGuire scored 11 of her team best 15 points during the third period of play.
The fourth quarter saw much of the same as the Valiants were unable to match the first-place Bulldogs, as DeSales pulled away for the 65-40 final.
With the loss, Manhattanville falls to 5-8 on the year, 1-2 in MAC Freedom play. DeSales improves to 11-2 and remain a perfect 3-0 in conference play on the year.
The Valiants will look to get back on track when they host the Lady Monarchs of King's College Saturday afternoon at Kennedy Gymnasium with tip-off scheduled for 1:00 pm.
