PURCHASE, N.Y. – Playing their final game in 2021, the Manhattanville College women's basketball team suffered their first home less of the season on Saturday, dropping an 80-67 contest to Gwynedd Mercy. The loss will have the Valiants end the first half of the schedule with a 9-2 record.

Ali Mikaele (Silver Spring, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal School) was Manhattanville's leading performer on both sides of the ball, scoring a team-high 15 while collecting 11 rebounds to lead the Valiants on the day. The senior has now earned a double-double in three straight games, scoring 42 and pulling down 37 boards in that stretch.

Faith Johnson-Desilvia (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead) was the only other scorer in double-figures in the contest for the home team, scoring 12. Spencer Shore (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton) put up nine points, snapping her double-digit point streak at five games. Kristen Scrobola (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas High School) had a career-high eight rebounds, while Shore contributed six.

In their lowest offensive output of the season so far, the Valiants shot just 29 percent from the field, including a 3-for-19 line from beyond the arc. Without the deep ball at their disposal, Manhattanville struggled to keep up with the potent Griffins offense on the day.

Gwynedd Mercy shot 43 percent in the first half, compared to a 31 percent mark for Manhattanville. The teams traded leads and baskets through the opening four minutes, playing to a 9-9 tie. It was at that point where the Griffins put together the first sustained run of the day, with a Cayla Sharkey three pointer starting an 8-0 run. The Valiants fought back to tie the game at 18 with just over two minutes left in the quarter, but the Griffins would score four of the final five points to end the first stanza up by three.

Tied at 24-24, Gwynedd Mercy use a nine-point string to gain some distance with five and a half left in the half. The lead would swell to 11 before the Valiants were able to use a 7-0 run to pull back to within four. An Alexis Eagan jumper and a Niyona Smith (Towson, MD/Concordia Prep) free throw accounted for the only points over the final 90 seconds, giving the guests a 40-35 advantage at the half.

The Griffins would pull away with a 29-15 scoring advantage in the third quarter. The visitor lead reach double digits again halfway through the quarter at 53-43 before the Griffins went on a 15-0 run to go up by 22 with 53 seconds remaining in the third. The Valiants would outscore the Griffins 17-11 in the final quarter, but the explosive third quarter by the Griffins was too much for the Vals to overcome.

Up Next
The Valiants will return to action next in 2022 when they kick off the second half of their schedule on January 6 against Mount Saint Vincent.

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