DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - The Valiants were unable to capitalize on 17 first half turnovers by Delaware Valley, succumbing to the Aggies by a 67-60 final score Wednesday evening in MAC Freedom action.


Sophomore Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) scored a team-high 13 points on the night to go along with seven rebounds.  Sophomore Ivy Coles (Freeport, N.Y./Christ The King) netted 11 points on the night, and junior Kelsey Decker (Sidney, N.Y./Sidney) matched her career-high with nine points.  The Aggies were paced by Ashley Smink who scored a game-high 21 points.

It was a defensive struggle for both teams in the first half, as the teams combined for just 44 points in the opening 20 minutes of action.  The Valiant defense continued to flex its muscles against the Aggies, causing 17 turnovers and compiling ten steals in the first half alone.  

Delaware Valley came storming out of the gates before hitting the wall in the first half, scoring the first seven points of the game in just over one minute of action.  Kelley ended the run with her first bucket of the game at the 7:57 mark of the quarter, and the Valiants continued to chip away at the Aggie lead from there.  A late layup at the end of the first quarter helped Delaware Valley match their largest lead at eight points at the first break.  The Valiants used a hot start to the second quarter however to erase much of the deficit, scoring the first six points of the second stanza behind two layups from McGuire.  The Valiants continued to roll in the quarter, holding the Aggies without a basket for the first 5:33 of the period, causing five turnovers over that span.  Finding their groove, the Valiants stretched the run to an eventual 12-2 spurt to take the lead for the first time with 2:03 remaining in the half.  Delaware Valley retook the lead with a layup from Amber Grohowski with 57 seconds remaining in the half and took a 23-21 lead into the locker room.

The second half started much like the first, with Delaware Valley using an 11-4 run to build their lead up to nine points midway through the third quarter.  After a three pointer by Ashley Smink made it 40-29, the Valiants used four free-throws from McGuire to cut back into the lead, and were able to get the deficit down to five points with 1:22 to play in the quarter.  A three and a layup by the Aggies late helped the home team stretch the lead back to eight heading into the final break of the night.

After trading buckets for the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, Decker nailed back-to-back three's on consecutive possessions make it 56-50 with 6:50 to play.  Keeping the deficit at six points for the next few minutes, the crimson and black made it a one possession game with 1:11 to play after two free-throws from senior Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster).  The free-throw would be the last point Manhattanville would score however, as the Valiants missed two consecutive three-pointers and Delaware Valley went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe to come away with the 67-60 victory.

With the loss, Manhattanville drops back below .500 in MAC Freedom play this year at 2-3, 6-9 overall for the year.  Delaware Valley improves to 3-2 in conference play, 7-9 overall for the season.  The Valiants are back in action this weekend when they host Eastern University on Saturday with tip scheduled for 1:00 pm.