SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – The first half of the 2023-24 season officially wrapped up for the Manhattanville College women's basketball team on Tuesday afternoon, as the Valiants fell to Knox College in the final day of the Puerto Rico Clásico. The Valiants will head into the holiday break with a 7-2 overall record.

Coming off of yesterday's loss that saw the Valiants held to their lowest scoring output in 18 years, Manhattanville put up their second-highest point total of the season on Tuesday. Four different Valiants reached double-figures offensively, led by a great performance off the bench by Angela Downey (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst). The graduate guard scored a season-high 17 points as she shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.

Livi Correia (North Attleboro, Mass./Worcester Academy) finished with 13 points as she added three assists and a team-high three steals. Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep) earned a 12 point, 12 rebound double-double, while Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) scored ten points while handing out seven assists to lead the team. Julianna Kascic (North Bergen, N.J./Paramus Catholic) corralled nine boards while scoring six points.

While the Valiants were able to get multiple shooters involved in a well-rounded offensive performance, Kylee Callahan erupted for 31 points for the Prairie Fire as her performance was enough to guide Knox to the victory.

Knox would score the first six points of the contest before Downey got the Valiants on the board with her first three-pointer of the day. The Valiants chipped away to pull back within one with 4:55 left in the quarter, but the Prairie Fire continued to score, going on a 14-8 run to close out the quarter with a 23-16 lead.

The Prairie Fire shot 62 percent in the second quarter to build upon their lead, with Callahan draining a deep ball to begin the frame. After a Smith jumper brought the Vals back within single-digits, Knox scored 17 straight points to go firmly in front, 43-18. Down but not out, the Valiants outscored Knox 11-3 over the final two and a half minutes of the half to bring the scored to 46-29.

Carrying the late momentum into the third, Manhattanville hit 80 percent of their shots from the field, including a 3-for-4 clip from deep, to continue clawing back into the contest. The Prairie Fire climbed back up to a 25-point advantage before the Valiants went on a 13-1 run to move the score to 59-46. While Knox was able to keep its lead at 17 under two minutes, Downey hit another three to begin a 9-1 run to close out the quarter and make it a game once again with the Valiants only down nine with ten minutes to play, 66-57.

A three-pointer from Jamison Agostino (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) and layups from Tucker and Smith brought the Valiants within a single possession with 8:16 remaining, trailing 67-64. After watching their lead almost entirely vanish, the Prairie Fire reestablished breathing room with a pair of free throws and a layup from Callahan. Manhattanville would quickly respond with four points of their own to once again close the gap down to three points, but Knox's 8-0 run was the final blow against a resilient Manhattanville effort as Callahan's last field goal of the game would be a three with 2:54 remaining to put the Prairie Fire up 79-68. While the Valiants outscored Knox 12-7 over the remainder of play, the comeback fell just short as Knox emerged victorious, 86-80.

Up Next
The Valiants head back stateside to enjoy the holidays before returning to action in the new year on Jan. 2 to host Old Westbury at 6 p.m.

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