ST. DAVIDS, PA. – The Manhattanville College women's basketball team cut a 22-point  fourth quarter deficit down to five, but ultimately fell just short against the Eastern University Eagles Saturday, Feb. 9, dropping a 63-56 contest in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom play.

Sophomore Sarah Coutu (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East) scored 20 of her game-high 26 points in the second half for Manhattanville (16-6, 7-5 MACF) and senior Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) added 13, but Eastern (10-13, 5-7 MACF) utilized a 23-2 in points via free throws, led by Minika Glenn, who finished 7-for-8 from the line on her way to a team-high 15 points. Five players finished with seven points or more for the Eagles.

The Valiants scored nine of the game's first 12 points, but the Eagles rallied to grab a 14-11 lead at the end of the opening quarter. Up 26-19 after a jumper from senior Geena Catalano (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) with 3:23 left in the second quarter, Eastern reeled off eight straight points, taking a 34-19 lead to the locker room.

Manhattanville twice got the margin down to 11 points in the third quarter, but Eastern ended the quarter with a 17-13 advantage, carrying a 51-32 lead to the fourth.
Eastern opened the quarter with three straight free throws, opening its largest lead of the day at 22 points. Coutu and classmate Jykayla Elting (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) responded with back-to-back three-pointers, kickstarting a 20-3 run that closed the gap to 57-52 with 1:50 to play. That was as close as the Valiants would draw, however, as Eastern made all six of its free throw attempts down the stretch.

The Valiants can clinch a MAC Freedom Tournament berth with a win on Senior Night this Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. against the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU)- Florham Devils at 6 p.m. from Kennedy Gymnasium.