PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College women's basketball team suffered their first conference setback of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling to Skyline rival Mount Saint Mary 61-51. The loss will drop Manhattanville to 10-2 on the year as the team stands 7-1 in conference play.

Coming off her double-double in Tuesday's win over Mount Saint Vincent, Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep) led the Valiants offensively with a 12 point performance. The sophomore was 5-of-8 from the field while adding seven rebounds, four via the offensive glass. Smith would add a blocked shot and an assist to her stat line.

Julianna Kascic (North Bergen, N.J./Paramus Catholic) and Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) finished with 11 points each to round out the leading scorers. Kascic added 11 caroms to her day to collect her seventh double-double of the year. Kascic continues to lead Manhattanville in both points and rebounds per game with averages of 15.5 and 10.8 per contest. Orlando, meanwhile, followed up her career-high of 12 points from earlier this week with another double-figure effort. The rookie would add a pair of assists and steals to her docket.

The Valiants were doomed on the day by ineffective performances at the free throw line. Despite making a season-high 28 free throw attempts, Manhattanville hit just 12. The .429 success rate from the charity stripe was the team's second-lowest of the season. The woes at the line, coupled with a 3-of-16 mark from beyond the arc, made the Valiants' comeback effort struggle to get consistent momentum.

The Knights claimed a seven point advantage through the opening quarter that would ultimately be the key difference maker in the contest. Jamison Agostino (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) connected on a three pointer four and a half minutes into the quarter to put the home team up by four, 10-6. However, that would be the Valiants' last points of the frame as Mount Saint Mary scored 11 unanswered to swing momentum onto the other side of the court. Manhattanville would miss their last eight shots of the quarter as the Knights began to pull away.

A Ciarra Quinn three pointer opened up the second for the Knights, claiming their first double-digit lead of the day. The Valiants would be unable to narrow the gap by more than six as Mount Saint Mary seemingly had a response to every Manhattanville basket. The Knights would lead by as many as 13 following a 7-0 run entering the final two minutes of the half to go up 33-20. The Valiants closed out the half with six straight points, four coming via free throws, to pull closer at the buzzer, 33-26.

Manhattanville continued to score to open up the second half as Smith and Orlando hit a pair of layups to make it a one score game again. The reigning Skyline champs refused to let the Valiant run get any closer as Kate Hughes hit back-to-back layups to regain some breathing room for the visiting team. While Manhattanville would get back within four later in the period, a 7-3 MSMC run over the final 2:48 would send the game into the fourth with the Valiants down 47-39.

The Valiants would put together a comeback effort over the final ten minutes, getting the Knights into foul trouble and drawing numerous trips to the free throw line. The Valiants would outscore Mount Saint Mary 9-5 over the first 6:01 of the fourth to pull back within four, cutting the deficit down to 52-48. However, despite taking 12 free throws in the quarter alone, Manhattanville would only hit two of their shot attempts. The missed opportunities allowed the Knights to thwart the comeback effort there as Lauren Desrats drained a three pointer on the other side of the floor to begin a 9-3 run over the final 3:04 of regulation.

Up Next
The Valiants will look to bounce back on Wednesday in their non-conference finale, taking on Bryant & Stratton at 3 p.m.

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