WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – A poor shooting day doomed the Valiants as they were unable to capitalize on 29 King's turnovers, falling to the Lady Monarchs 52-48 Saturday afternoon in MAC Freedom play.
 
Sophomore Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) had a big day for Manhattanville, dropping a game-high 17 points while collecting eight rebounds and five steals in the loss.  Senior Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) continued to find the scoring touch as well, scoring 14 points to go with seven rebounds and four steals.
 
 It was back and forth action the entire first half between the two squads, as King's scored the first eight points of the contest to take the early lead.  The Valiants fought back immediate with a 12-3 run over the next six minutes, taking the lead 12-11 on a layup from Deieso. A late bucket from Alexis Steeber gave King's a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter.  The runs continued again in the second stanza, as King's once again scored the first eight points of the quarter to take a nine-point lead with 6:50 to play in the half.  The Valiants however used another run of their own, scoring nine straight to level the scoring 21-21 with 3:33 remaining in the half.  It was back and forth the final three minutes of the half, with King's outscoring Manhattanville by one to take a 28-27 lead into the locker room.
 
The Lady Monarchs extended their lead to seven points in the first six minutes of action in the second half. A three-pointer from junior Kelsey Decker (Sidney, N.Y./Sidney) and a layup from McGuire made it a one-possession game, 39-37 with 3:26 remaining in the third quarter, but that was as close as they would get to King's the rest of the way.  Trailing by nine with 3:33 to play in the contest, the Valiants tried to fight back, scoring seven points over the next three minutes but could not hit the big bucket down the stretch, falling by the 52-48 final.
 
Manhattanville slips to 2-6 in MAC Freedom play, 6-12 overall on the year. King's improved to 2-6 as well in conference play, 4-14 overall on the season with the win.  The Valiants will host Hunter College on Monday for their final non-conference matchup of the year beginning at 6:00 pm.