RYE, N.Y. – A smothering defensive effort in the first half led the way to victory of the Manhattanville College women's basketball team on Saturday as the Valiants improved to 3-0 on the season with a 64-39 victory over Utica.

Manhattanville held the visiting Pioneers to no field goals for close to 13 minutes to open up the game as the Valiants limited Utica to a 10-for-50 mark from the floor over the course of the game.

Jamison Agostino (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Julianna Kascic (North Bergen, N.J./Paramus Catholic) both put up double-figures offensively in the win. Agostino scored 18 points, doing all of her damage from beyond the arc with a 6-for-11 mark from deep. Kascic, meanwhile, posts her second-straight double-double with a 15 point, 16 rebound performance. The graduate forward added a block and four assists, a mark matched by Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) to lead the team.

Kascic's domination on the boards led Manhattanville's effort as the team outrebounded Utica 56-32. Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep) added 11 rebounds, while Tucker and Angela Downey (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) both finished the game with five apiece.

The Valiants jumped out to a sizeable lead in the first quarter as the team hit five of their seven shots from beyond the arc across the opening ten minutes. Agostino drained her first three shots from deep to lead the Valiants to a 17-2 advantage through the opening five minutes. The Pioneers missed all ten of their field goal attempts in the quarter but were able to keep the Valiants from fully running away by hitting nine of their ten free throw attempts to make Manhattanville's lead 20-9 at the end of the period.

While Utica would finally hit a basket with 7:12 left in the half, the Valiants limited the Pioneers to six total points in the second quarter. After Utica hit back-to-back layups from Haley Burchhardt and Krissy Geraci, the Valiants went on a 13-0 run over a span of 4:36 to take a commanding 36-13 advantage. Vanessa Hall put an end to the run with a Pioneer basket in the closing minute, but a Kascic layup at the horn put the Valiants back up by 23 at the half.

The Valiants continued to pull away with a 22-point third quarter, their highest offensive output of the day. After opening the half on a 9-2 run, Manhattanville scored nine of the final ten points of the third quarter to take a 35-point advantage into the fourth quarter. The Pioneers would convert on their trips to the line in the fourth, hitting eight of their 12 free throws en route to outscoring Manhattanville 14-4 in the final ten minutes, but it merely made a dent in the Valiants' advantage as the home squad earned the 25 point win.

Up Next
The Valiants will enjoy an extended Thanksgiving break before returning to action on Nov. 29 when they travel to Sarah Lawrence fo a 7 p.m. Skyline matchup.