DALLAS, PA – The Manhattanville College women's basketball team conceded a season-high 82 points on Saturday, Jan. 12, dropping its first Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom game of the season, falling 82-71 to the Misericordia University Cougars from the Anderson Sports-Health Center.

Senior Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) had a game-high 24 points, her third 24-point outing in her last four games, and sophomore Amanda Pemberton (Las Vegas, Nev./Liberty) just missed a double-double with 15 points and eight rebounds for Manhattanville (12-2, 3-1 MACF). Sophomore Sarah Coutu (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East) had 10 points while freshman Ali Mikaele (Silver Spring, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal School) and sophomore Spencer Shore (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton) both added nine points; Mikaele added eight rebounds and Shore recorded team-highs in assists (four) and steals (three). Japriya Carroll led five players in double figures for Misericordia (15-0, 4-0 MACF) with 19 points and Tessa Zamolyi had 16 points with nine rebounds and a game-high five steals.

The defeat marked Manhattanville's first blemish against a D-III opponent this season with the team's only other loss of the season coming at the hands of D-II Nyack College on Jan. 2.
Manhattanville led 4-2 before Misericordia went on a 14-2 run over a 2:40 stretch, taking a 16-6 lead with just over three minutes left in the opening quarter. The Valiants closed to seven on two occasions, but the Cougars carried a 20-11 lead to the second quarter.

The Valiants closed to 22-16 less than a minute into the second quarter, but the Cougars pushed their lead out to double digits, 31-21, with 5:16 to play, and maintained that 10+ point cushion the rest of the half, carrying a 43-27 advantage to the locker room. The Cougars ended the half with a 9-2 edge in points via free throws.

Eight straight points from Manhattanville, capped by a Coutu three-point shot, halved the Cougars lead to open the second half, but the Cougars again were quick to answer, scoring six straight of their own. After briefly falling behind by 17, Manhattanville managed to close to within 11 in the final minute of the third quarter. The Cougars eventually took a 66-54 lead to the fourth quarter.

Misericordia led by double digits throughout the final 10 minutes, leading by as many as 19. Shore provided the final points of the game with a three-pointer, one of her three on the day, in the final seconds. The Cougars shot 41.9 percent from the field during the game, the best percentage by a Manhattanville opponent this season.

MAC Freedom play continues Wednesday for Manhattanville on the road against the conference pre-season favorite, the DeSales University Bulldogs. Tip time is scheduled for 8 p.m.