NEWBURGH, N.Y. – In a clash of two of the Skyline's finest, the Manhattanville College women's basketball won a thriller against Mount Saint Mary on Wednesday night, defeating the Knights 57-55. The win will play a pivotal role in the Skyline Conference postseason picture, as the Valiants break their tie with the Knights to take sole possession of second place with a 13-2 conference mark and a 17-3 overall record.

The victory is just Manhattanville's fifth all-time against Mount Saint Mary in 32 total games, as the Knights have historically held an advantage over the Valiants. After the Knights brought Manhattanville's 2022 postseason run to an end in the Conference Championship semifinals a year ago and earned a win in Kennedy Gym back in January, Manhattanville was able to close out a crucial win entering the home stretch of the regular season.

Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) led the offensive effort with 18 points as the rookie rose to the challenge on Wednesday night. Orlando shot 7-of-15 from the field while going 4-for-6 at the charity stripe. It was the second-best scoring output of her young collegiate career, trailing only her 24 point performance against Sarah Lawrence from Jan. 17.

Joining Orlando in double figures were Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep) and Julianna Kascic (North Bergen, N.J./Paramus Catholic), who would also lead the Valiants' rebounding efforts. Smith scored 11 while Kascic put up 10 as the duo each pulled down eight rebounds. The pair helped the Valiants outrebound the Knights 42-31 in the showdown. Kristen Scrobola (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas High School) and Angela Downey (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) would also have strong nights off the glass with five boards each.

The first quarter set the stage for what was to come throughout the night—a tightly fought affair that saw the two teams matching each other blow for blow. Both teams staked claim to a four point lead through the opening ten minutes, with the Knights taking the advantage first up 10-6 through the opening 4:07. Jamison Agostino (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) responded to the biggest deficit of the early going with a three pointer to begin an 11-3 run that closed out the quarter with the Valiants up 17-13.

Things managed to get even tighter in the second quarter as neither team would lead by more than three points following the opening basket. Mount Saint Mary opened the second with three free throws to pull back within one before Smith connected on a layup for the Valiants' first basket of the frame. With Manhattanville still up by three with 5:39 to go in the half, the Knights hit back-to-back layups to take their first lead of the quarter as Kate Hughes put the home team up 22-21. A Smith free throw would even the score back up ahead of Angela Downey's (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) layup, but Ciarra Quinn hit a basket and Kaeli McAnally hit a free throw to put the Knights up at the halftime buzzer, 25-24.

Mount Saint Mary would lead for most of the third, but as was the case in the first half, would not be able to gain much in the way of separation. The Knight lead peaked at three in the quarter as the home team began the half with a basket from Hughes. After trading layups across the opening two minutes, Orlando drilled a pair of free throws to put the Valiants up by one. The rookie would go on a 6-2 run by herself over the following two minutes as the lead climbed to 34-31 with 5:25 left in the quarter. Cailean Nolan would wipe out the advantage with a three pointer as the Knights outscored the Valiants 7-3 to close out the third to take a 39-37 lead into the final frame of regulation.

Down to crunch time, the Valiants had their best shooting effort when it mattered most, shooting 64 percent over the final ten minutes of play. A basket from Orlando and an old-fashioned three point play from Livi Correia (North Attleboro, Mass./Worcester Academy) put the Valiants up 42-41 with 7:51 remaining. While the Knights would respond with five straight points, including a three from Katie Smith, the Valiants played one of their best stretches of basketball of the season over the following three minutes. Orlando hit back-to-back baskets to tie the game up at 46-46 before Correia drilled a three for the lead. Correia and Orlando would add one more basket a piece to cap off an 11-0 run that put the Valiants up 53-46 with 3:41 to play. The lead would slowly climb up to nine as time continued to wind down with just 2:22 on the clock. Still, the reigning conference champs were not ready to go away quietly into the night. Mount Saint Mary would draw a pair of fouls and hit all four of their free throw attempts before Smith hit a back-to-back layups for the Knights to suddenly make it a one point game with 46 seconds remaining.

A Valiant turnover gave Mount Saint Mary possession with 38 seconds to go, but Katie's sister Erin's three point attempt was off the mark following a Knight timeout. The Valiants would get the rebound, but their inbound attempt was picked off as the Knights took another timeout to draw up another attempt at regaining the lead. It would be Shannon Phelan this time with the look from deep, but her attempt was also offline and corralled by Correia. The junior was immediately fouled, hitting the backend of her two free throws to put the Valiants up 57-55 with nine seconds to play. Mount Saint Mary drew up one final play, getting the ball in Katie Smith's hands for a buzzer beater attempt, but the jumper rattled off the rim as the Valiants celebrated the win.

Up Next
The Valiants will play a rare Sunday game this weekend, taking on Yeshiva at Baruch College at 6 p.m.

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