WORCESTER, Mass. – A hot first quarter start was not enough for the Manhattanville College women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon, as the Valiants suffered their first loss of the year at Clark University, 53-41. With the loss, Manhattanville will enter the second half of the season in the new year with a 9-1 overall record.
The 41 points is the lowest the Valiants have scored since 2019 when they were held to 40 points in a loss to DeSales. Despite the limited offensive production on the day,
Julianna Kascic (North Bergen, N.J./Paramus Catholic) continued what has been a phenomenal season with her fifth-straight double-double and her sixth of the year. The senior put up 16 points and 14 rebounds. While Kascic was only 4-of-10 from the floor, she went 8-for-11 on free throw attempts.
Livi Correia (North Attleboro, Mass./Worcester Academy) and
Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep) finished as the team's other leading scorers with eight and six points, respectively.
Kascic and Smith led the rebound effort for the Valiants, combining for 24 of the team's 33 boards. Smith pulled down 10, her second most rebounds this season and her second-straight game with double digit rebounds. Her four offensive boards led the team on the day. Clark would outrebound the Valiants with 45 rebounds.
The Valiants shot 55 percent in the first quarter, while the Cougars hit just two field goals in the opening ten minutes. The shooting discrepancy allowed the Valiants to open the day with a 9-0 run, capped off by back-to-back threes from
Jamison Agostino (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Correia. The lead would climb to 13 as the quarter drew to a close, as the Valiants scored the final five points of the quarter to give Manhattanville a 17-4 lead.
While the red-hot start seemed to set things up perfectly for the Valiants to continue their undefeated start to the year, Clark flipped the script with a 55 percent shooting effort of their own. Manhattanville, meanwhile, cooled to a 2-for-15 stretch to close out the half as the Cougars clawed back. Corriea scored the opening basket of the second quarter before Clark went on a 21-2 run to take their first lead of the day. As the halftime horn sounded, the Cougars had outscored Manhattanville 22-5 in the quarter to take a 26-22 advantage.
The Cougars would outscore Manhattanville 27-19 in the second half to protect their comeback effort. The Valiants were held to just six field goals over the final 20 minutes, including an 0-for-6 mark from deep. Clark's lead never fell below seven in the second half and would swell up to 18 in the fourth quarter to hand the Valiants their first loss of the season.
Up Next
The Valiants will look to begin a new winning streak when the new year begins, returning to action on Jan. 3 to take on Mount Saint Vincent in Skyline action.
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