PURCHASE, N.Y. – With 13 different players recording a point, the Manhattanville College women's basketball team put together a dominant effort in Wednesday night's 93-31 victory over neighboring Purchase College. The Valiants improve to 14-3 overall with the win and 11-1 in the Skyline Conference, continuing to sit atop the conference standings.
Four Valiants reached double figures in the victory, once again led by
Julianna Kascic (North Bergen, N.J./Paramus Catholic). The forward shined in just 18 minutes of action, shooting 8-of-11 from the field en route to a 17-point outing with eight rebounds, a pair of assists, a block and a steal. Kascic's starting teammates of
Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep) and
Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) also reached double figures offensively with 14 and 12, respectively.
Taylor Malone (Yonkers, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic Prep) rounded out the leading scorers as she put on a show in her 10 minutes on the floor. The rookie scored a season-high 11 points on a 4-for-6 shooting performance, drilling three shots from deep along with three rebounds, two assists and a steal in what was her finest performance of her young career.
On the other end of the floor, the Valiants held Purchase to a season-low 31 points. It was the seventh time this season Manhattanville has held the opposition under 40 points as they continue to lead the way in the conference with 47.6 points allowed per game. With Kascic leading the way on the boards, both Smith and
Kristen Scrobola (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas High School) pulled down six caroms. The duo would also combine for five blocks with Scrobola also scoring a season-high eight points.
An Orlando layup got the night started which was responded to in quick order by a three from Charlee Neb. The 3-2 lead 50 seconds into the contest would be the first and only advantage held by the Panthers on the night as a layup from Smith began an 11-0 Valiant run to put Manhattanville up 13-3. Jessica McHugh stopped the run with a layup for Purchase before an old-fashioned three point play by Kascic and another layup by Smith brought an end to the quarter with the home team up 18-5.
The Valiants kept up the offense over the rest of the game, shooting better than 52 percent in each of the final three quarters. After Neb hit another shot from deep for the Panthers with 8:04 left in the half, the Valiants went on a 17-1 run to close out the second quarter. Manhattanville had a closing-minute layup from
Esther Ramos (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) and a three-pointer by
Jamison Agostino (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) that beat the buzzer to carry a 30-point advantage into the locker room as the lead swelled to 41-11.
It was more of the same to close out the night as Purchase shot just 30 percent in the second half while the Valiants continued to rack up points with a 54 percent rate from the field. Manhattanville also outrebounded the Panthers 29-11 across the final two quarters. Manhattanville opened the third on a 10-0 run across the first 2:32 to push the lead up to 40. It would climb up to 49 as the game headed into the fourth after Scrobola's final basket of the quarter.
The bench would take the reigns in the fourth quarter as Malone,
Gwen Merrifield (Plymouth, NH/Plymouth Regional High School),
Julie Debrocky (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac),
Caroline Barbalato (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff) and
Mikayla Walton (Oxford, Conn./Oxford) played the full fourth quarter. The fivesome outscored the Panthers 24-11, led by Malone 's offensive display.
Up Next
It's back to the road for the Valiants this weekend, heading to Old Westbury for a noon contest on Saturday.
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