PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – Closing out a back-to-back pair of road tilts against two of the Skyline Conference's top teams, the Manhattanville College women's basketball team emerged from the gauntlet with a second win, defeating Saint Joseph's Long Island 57-50. The Valiants improve to 13-3 overall and 10-1 in Skyline action.

Julianna Kascic's (North Bergen, N.J./Paramus Catholic) tenth double-double of the year led the charge with the forward scoring 20 points and collecting 13 rebounds. Kascic shot .700 from the field and went 6-for-8 at the free throw line along with two assists, a block and a steal.

Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) joined Kascic in double-figures, scoring ten points on five field goals. The sophomore was one of three Valiants to collect seven rebounds, a total matched by Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep) and Livi Correia (North Attleboro, Mass./Worcester Academy). Orlando also dished out three assists and had a takeaway in the win.

Smith scored eight and blocked four shots, her third time this year she has denied four attempts. Correia was also an offensive catalyst with a team-high six assists.

Evenly matched across the first five minutes, the Golden Eagles would piece together the first sustained run of the day to close out the opening quarter. Leading 7-6 with 5:25 remaining, Saint Joseph's went on a 7-0 run to go up 14-6. Lanyah Ford provided five of the run's points. The Golden Eagles looked poised to begin to run away with things but would be held silent by the Valiants for the final two minutes of the quarter to keep the gap at eight.

The Golden Eagles continued to build separation with Casey Travers hitting a three-pointer with 7:07 left in the half to put the home team up 23-10. The Valiants came to life facing the largest deficit of the game with a 16-1 run to come all the way back and take the lead following an Orlando layup with 1:37 before the horn. After watching their double-digit lead go up in smoke, Saint Joseph's would head into the break back in front after Megan Spina converted an old-fashioned three point play in the closing seconds to put her team up 27-26.

The teams traded the lead three times to begin the second half before back-to-back baskets by Jamison Agostino (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Orlando gave the Valiants a three-point advantage. Travers brought Saint Joseph's back within one before another Orlando layup and a pair of free throws by Kascic had the Valiants up five with 6:27 to play in the third. The Golden Eagles would narrow the gap down to one once again but would be unable to reclaim the lead. Angela Downey (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) provided the final basket of the third from deep to put Manhattanville up 42-37 entering the final quarter.

The Valiant defense shined in the fourth, holding the Golden Eagles to a game-low .150 mark from the field and a 1-for-13 line from deep. Still, Saint Joseph's had a majority of the offensive looks in the quarter, taking 20 field goal attempts compared to the Valiant's seven. The barrage allowed the Golden Eagles to take their first lead since 9:31 remained in the third on a pair of free throws by Travers with 4:23 remaining, going up 46-45. Kascic responded with a layup in the following trip down the floor, kickstarting a 7-0 run that proved to be the day's difference maker. Smith hit a pair from the free throw line to cap off the run, putting the Valiants up 52-46 with less than two minutes to play. The Golden Eagles fought back to a one possession game, but the Valiants iced the contest by getting the job done at the line as Correia, Kascic and Agostino combined to shoot 5-of-6 from the charity stripe over the closing 1:34 to secure the 57-50 win.

Up Next
The Valiants return home on Wednesday night to host Purchase at 6 p.m.

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