RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhttanville College women's basketball team won another Skyline Conference match up tonight, Jan. 22 against the College of Mount Saint Vincent. The Valiants came out victorious with a 56-52 win as freshman Jamie Smith (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain) notched her third double-double of the season and second in a row.
 
Smith ended the night with 16 rebounds, 11 point, two assists, one block and one steal. She shot .400 from the field and .500 from the free throw line. Nine of her 16 rebounds were offensive and two of them lead to second chance points. Smith is currently placed second on the team in blocks and field goal percentage with 11 and .659 respectively.
 
It was a slow start for the Valiants (14-1, 10-1) as they ended the first quarter leading the Dolphins (8-7, 6-5) 9-8. Manhattanville hasn't scored below 10 points in the first quarter all season. Although the point count was low the team effort was high. Junior Amanda Pemberton (Las Vegas, Nev./Liberty), sophomore Faith Johnson-Desilvia (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead) and freshman Jamie Smith (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain) were the three scorers to put points on the board. Two of the four shots were assisted, one by Smith and another by sophomore Caludia Valentin.
 
The Valiants lost the lead in the beginning of the second but gained a small one by the finish. The Valiants got most of their scoring opportunities off of defensive rebounds being pushed up the court and made into baskets. When Manhattanville was down 19-15 Johnson-Desilvia made two back-to-back defensive rebounds that were converted into baskets. Pemberton made the first layup and then junior Spencer Shore (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton) hit a jump shot to tie up the game. After Shore, CMSV's Ashley Martin made a layup to take the lead one more time but Pemberton and Smith each made a layup to put the Valiants ahead by two at the half.
 
Five fast break points were scored in the third. Johnson-Desilvia made a fast break layup after Pemberton grabbed a defensive rebound to make the score 25-21 in the Valiants favor. The last fast break play was a three-pointer from Shore that was assisted by junior Sarah Coutu (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East).
 
The Crimson and White and the Dolphins traded the lead off twice in the final minutes of the game. After Pemberton tied to score at 44 the Valiants remained ahead. Shore hit a three and Coutu followed with a made jumper and three-pointer before the Dolphins hit another shot.
 
Pemberton lead the Valiants in points totaling 18 and shooting .600 from the field. She also tied her season high of four steals tonight as she did first against York College on Dec. 30. Shore made four three-pointers shooting .250 from the three-point line.
 
Manhattanville will stay on the road and face St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn in Brooklyn, N.Y. this Saturday, Jan. 25, at 1:00 p.m.