RYE, N.Y. - A late comeback by the Manhattanville College women's basketball team was not enough to lead the Valiants past the Eagles of Eastern University Saturday afternoon, falling 64-62 in overtime inside Kennedy Gymnasium.
Three players finished in double-figures for Manhattanville. Senior Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) led the way with 17 points to compliment six rebounds and two blocks. Sophomores Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) and Ivy Coles (Freeport, N.Y./Christ The King) both netted 13 points, with McGuire picking up her fourth double-double of the season. Emily Lavin led Eastern with a game-high 18 points on the afternoon on 8-of-13 shooting.
The Valiants saw an eight-point halftime lead disappear in the first 3:31 of the second half when Eastern scored 14 points early to come storming out of the gates after the halftime break. The Valiants responded late in the third quarter and early part of the final stanza, using an 8-0 run behind four points by McGuire to stretch the lead back up to seven points. Three straight empty trips by the Valiants and 3-of-4 shooting from the Eagles cut the lead to one. The Eagles continued their run, taking the lead with 2:07 on a Lavin layup and made it a two-point game on a free-throw from Taylor Price with 17 seconds remaining. Freshman Nancy Caballero (Henderson, Nev./Liberty) grabbed an offensive rebound with 11 seconds on the clock and laid in the second-chance opportunity to level the score. On the final possession, Deieso came up with a huge block on Lavin at the buzzer and sent the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, Amanda Riiff hit a three-pointer to kick off the scoring and give the Eagles the lead 61-58. The Valiants tied the game with a McGuire free-throw and Deieso layup but Regie Robinson responded 15 seconds later with a layup of her own to give the Eagles the lead once again. The Valiants were unable to cash in the rest of the way, getting a single point on a Coles free-throw but the Eagles held on for the two-point victory.
With the loss the Valiants fall to 2-4 in MAC Freedom play, 6-9 overall on the year. Eastern improves to .500 in conference play at 3-3, 12-5 overall. The Valiants have three contests on the schedule for next week, beginning ith their final non-conference game against Hunter Monday at 6:00 pm. The team will then be on the road for their next two conference matchups, taking on rival FDU-Florham Wednesday evening at 6:00 pm and King's College Saturday at 1:00 pm.
