PURCHASE, NY – Despite a 19-point, nine-rebound, five-assist, four-steal performance from freshman Sarah Coutu (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East), the Manhattanville College women's basketball team fell 68-61 to Misericordia University Monday night at Kennedy Gymnasium in MAC Freedom play, falling into a tie for fourth place in the conference.

Tied with the Cougars for third in the conference coming in to the night's action, Manhattanville (16-5, 6-4 MACF) led for more than 32 minutes and by as much as nine points, but finished just 11-for-24 from the free throw line; Misericordia (14-7, 7-3 MACF) finished 20-for-28 from the charity stripe, including an 18-for-22 mark in the second half.

Brenna Karnish had a team-high 15 points for Misericordia, while Japriya Carroll scored all 13 of her points after halftime. Rachel Carmody added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the game's only double-double. Junior Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) added 10 points for the Valiants.

Manhattanville led by six on two different occasions in the first quarter and led 13-9 at the end of the 10-minute frame, led by six points from freshman Amanda Pemberton (Henderson, Nev./Liberty). A 6-0 run to end the second quarter pushed Manhattanville to its largest lead of the night, 26-17, at the half.

Each team seized momentum with big runs to open the second half. Misericordia started the action with a 12-2 run to grab a 29-28 lead, but Manhattanville countered with a 13-4 run of their own for a 41-33 lead with 2:49 to go in the quarter. Misericordia trimmed the gap down to 46-43 by the end of the quarter.

With the Valiants up 50-45 three minutes into the final quarter, the Cougars scored six straight points, capped by a Carroll three-pointer, for a one-point lead. Following a tie and three lead changes over the next 1:44, Karnish hit a jumper to put Misericordia in front for good with 3:29 to play. The Cougars scored 13 of the game's final 20 points, earning just their fourth win in 12 career games at Kennedy Gym.

The Valiants are back in action on the road on Wednesday night against Delaware Valley. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.