PURCHASE, N.Y. – A ten-season journey for Head Coach
Kate Vlahakis heading the Manhattanville College women's basketball team added a new milestone on Thursday night, as Vlahakis notched her 141
st win at the helm of the Valiants. The 76-48 victory over Yeshiva makes Vlahakis the winningest coach in program history, surpassing Larry Holten in the program record book.
"These wins are made possible by every single player I've had here for the last ten years and every single coach that's coached for me," Vlahakis said following the victory. "They all have a part of this tonight."
The history-making win continues a red-hot start to the year for the Valiants, who improved to 6-0 on the season and 4-0 in Skyline Conference play with the win. Manhattanville remains the only unbeaten team in the Skyline, outscoring opponents by an average of 29.3 points per game.
For a second-straight game it was
Julianna Kascic (North Bergen, N.J./Paramus Catholic) taking point as the team's leading scorer. The senior posted her second double-double in the last three games with a 20 point, 15 rebound performance. Kascic trails only
Jamison Agostino (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) on the team in scoring, with Kascic now putting up an average of 13.7 points per game. Her 15 boards brings her average per game up to 10.2 to lead the Valiants' efforts off the glass.
Speaking of Agostino, she would finish only behind Kascic on the night in scoring with 17 with all of the junior's field goals come from beyond the arc. Agostino is now putting up 15.0 points a night and is shooting a .400 clip from deep. Joining the leading scorers was
Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep), who set a new season-high with 13 points, reaching double-figures for the first time since the season-opener against York. Smith would add nine rebounds with all but one coming off the offensive glass.
Kristen Scrobola (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas High School) had another strong rebounding performance after nabbing eight boards. Like Smith, most of the junior's work would come in the attacking zone with five offensive caroms. Scrobola would also dish out a team-high four assists on the night.
Agostino set the pace in the first half, leading the Valiants with 11 points over the opening 20 minutes. The Stony Brook product shot 3-of-5 from downtown while connecting on both of her free throw attempts of the half to lead the offensive effort. Despite Agostino connecting from deep on the team's first shot of the night, the Valiants were unable to pull away from the Maccabees in the opening quarter. Yeshiva took four separate leads in the opening period, while the Valiants were only able to build up a lead as high as four which saw Yeshiva quickly bounce back from. Daniella Rothman put the Maccabees ahead by two with a three point entering the final minute of the quarter, but an
Angela Downey (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) three and a pair of free throws by Scrobola put the Vals back on top at the first buzzer, 20-17.
Yeshiva reclaimed the lead early in the second with the first four points before a 6-0 run for the home squad swung momentum right back in favor of the Valiants. Yeshiva pulled back within one before the Valiants outscored the Maccabees 8-3 over the final three minutes of the half to take their largest lead of the night at the half, 34-28.
Kascic would take over in the second half, scoring 16 of her 20 points on a 6-of-7 effort on field goal attempts. She would also go 4-of-5 from the free throw line while collecting six rebounds to allow the Valiants to start running away with the game. Manhattanville began the third on a 10-0 run, featuring threes by
Livi Correia (North Attleboro, Mass./Worcester Academy) and Agostino before being capped off by a Kascic layup that made the score 44-28. While the Valiants would be unable to stretch their lead past a 16 point margin in the quarter, they were able to hold off Yeshiva's offense. Kascic accounted for the final basket of the third, a jumper with 2:31 left in the quarter, to head into the final ten minutes up 52-37.
The Valiants scored the first six points to begin the final quarter, four via Kascic, to push their lead up to 21. The Maccabees would be unable to score consecutive baskets the rest of the way home, allowing Manhattanville to secure the 76-48 final.
Reflecting on the win and her tenure leading the Valiants, Vlahakis expressed nothing but gratitude towards her players that made this journey possible.
"When I first arrived in 2012, I had eight players and a little bit of a broken culture. Our AD at the time said, 'Kate, go in there and do what you can,' and every year this program has taken new leaps and new jumps," said Vlahakis. "Honestly, it's because of my kids, it's just because of the girls. They're an incredible group of women, and every alumni has been such an incredible woman for me. At the end of the day you look back on it, they're all part of your heart because they put everything they had into you when they were here, and this is a byproduct of all these kids."
Up Next
With the record set, Vlahakis and company will look to add another win under their belt when they return to the court on Saturday. The Valiants play host to Centenary at 2 p.m. at Kennedy Gymnasium.
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