PURCHASE, N.Y. - Sophomore Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) finished with her sixth double-double of the season and hit three big free-throws down the stretch to help Manhattanville hold off Delaware Valley 59-55 in MAC Freedom action Wednesday evening inside Kennedy Gynasium.
McGuire finished with a team-best 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Manhattanville. Senior Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) chipped in 12 points and junior Joiada Darnell (St. Albans, N.Y./Humanities and the Arts) added 11 for the home squad as well. Delaware Valley was led by freshman Ashley Smink who netted a game-high 23 points.
It was a sloppy start to the game for both squads, as Manhattanville and Delaware Valley combined for 14 turnovers in the opening frame. McGuire got the scoring started for the game with two free-throws 49 seconds into the contest, but Manhattanville went nearly five minutes before scoring again. The Aggies could only muster four points during that span, and a layup from Darnell at the 4:16 mark tied the score at 4. Two consecutive three-pointers by Sam Foy and Smink gave Delaware Valley a 10-4 edge, and another triple by Smink at the end of the quarter gave Delaware Valley their largest lead at seven points at the end of the first quarter.
Manhattanville found the scoring touch to begin the second quarter, shooting 6-of-7 from the field, igniting a 13-2 run in the first five minutes of the frame to take the lead 19-15. Once again it was Smink answering with a jumper from beyond the arc to cut the lead down to one. A mid-range jumper from McGuire made it a three-point game before the Aggies drained another from downtown to tie the score 21-21 with just over two minutes remaining in the half. Two layups by Amber Grohowski gave the Aggies a 25-23 edge as the teams went into the locker room.
It was another hot start to the third quarter for Manhattanville, as they used an 8-2 run in the first 3:31 to take a 31-27 lead early in the second half. The Aggies continued to fight back from there however, with each team trading buckets over the final few minutes of the stanza and the crimson and black held a three-point advantage, 38-35, at the final break.
It stayed close down the stretch, as both teams traded buckets for the first six minutes of action, with Manhattanville taking the largest lead of the stretch at just three points. A six-point output by Manhattanville over 1:18 pushed the lead up to seven points and the Aggies could not recover from there, cutting the deficit to three points at one point, but were unable to get any closer than that. McGuire went 3-4 from the line in the final minute to help the Valiants hold on for a huge conference win.
With the win, Manhattanville keeps their playoff hopes alive, closing within one game of Eastern University for the fourth playoff spot with three games to play. The Valiants will look to keep momentum in their favor on Saturday when they travel to Eastern in a huge battle with the Eagles and a chance to move into a tie for the final spot. Tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
