PURCHASE, N.Y. — In a clash of the No. 4 and 5 seeds, the Manhattanville College women's basketball team defeated St. Joseph's College (Long Island) on Tuesday night in the first round Skyline Conference Women's Basketball Championship matchup. The 69-52 win brings the Valiants into the semifinals, returning to action on Thursday night.
Playing 38 of 40 total minutes, Ali Mikaele (Silver Spring, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal School) was nearly unstoppable as she gained a double-double on 22 points and 18 rebounds on 10 of 22 shooting from the floor. It was career-highs in both categories for the senior forward who thrived under the pressure of the postseason environment. Kristen Scrobola (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas High School) and Niyona Smith (Towson, MD/Concordia Prep) also chipped in a double digit point effort with 10 apiece, combining for two assists, two blocks and four steals between the duo on a combined 36 minutes of total playing time.
Spencer Shore (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton) and Faith Johnson-Desilvia (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead) also played nearly the entirety of the quarterfinal victory for the Valiants. Shore had nine points, four assists and two rebounds going 1-4 from three and a perfect 4-4 from the fire throw line on 38 minutes of playing time while Johnson-Desilvia did a little bit of everything putting up four points, six rebounds, eight assists and two steals while playing 39 total minutes. Off the bench, Jamison Agostino (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) contributed a fantastic 18 minutes of playing time, going three of eight from beyond the arc for nine points, two rebounds and an assist.
The Valiants shot 27-69 from the field, 4-14 from beyond the arc and 11-16 from the free throw line while out rebounding the Golden Eagles 52 to 38. The essential difference in this game came down to the depth of the Valiants, as the bench outscored that of the Golden Eagles 31-10 on top of 18 second chance points and 17 points off turnovers to aid the Valiants to a 20 point lead with 1:26 left in the game and a 17 point victory when it was all said and done with.
Manhattanville will take on top seed Mount Saint Mary Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Newburgh, New York.
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