PURCHASE, N.Y. – In one of the most dramatic finishes in recent memory,
Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) sank a buzzer-beating half court shot to lift the Manhattanville University women's basketball team to a 61-58 win over Mount Saint Mary on Tuesday night inside Kennedy Gymnasium. The win brings the Valiants to 9-3 on the season and 6-2 in the Skyline, while the Knights fall to 6-8 (6-3 Skyline).
Orlando's heroics capped off a furious comeback effort in the fourth as the Valiants erased an eight-point deficit over the final six and a half minutes to play. With the game even at 58-58, the Knights had the chance to hold for the final shot after Margaret Trinkaus pulled down the defensive rebound off
Kathleen O'Mara's (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) missed layup. The Knights advanced with the timeout and got a look as Brianna Guglielmo heaved up a try with
Esther Ramos (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) glued to her. The junior Knight's shot clanged off the near iron as Ramos scrambled for the loose ball, collecting the carom and dishing to Orlando just below half court. The junior then let the prayer shot fly, connecting on just her second three-pointer of the season, but by far the biggest.
After being held without a field goal over the last two games,
Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) broke her cold spell in a big way, leading the Manhattanville offense with 18 points. The junior shot .571 from the floor with eight field goals, two from downtown. Tucker also had a pair of steals, matched by Ramos for the team-high, while collecting three rebounds.
Julie Debrocky (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) and Ramos joined Tucker in double-digits to lead the Valiant attack. Debrocky put up 15 for her third-straight games in double digits and ninth total on the season while nabbing seven rebounds and a steal. Ramos, meanwhile, notched her third double-double of the campaign with ten points with 10 boards. Ramos did her heavy lifting at the free throw line, shooting 8-of-12 at the charity stripe. Her three assists were matched by
Kathleen O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) for second-most on the night, behind only Orlando's four.
The Valiants shot .429, their third-highest field goal percentage of the season, in the contest to pick up the win. Manhattanville came out firing on a 6-0 opening run, getting baskets from O'Mara and Debrocky with a pair of Ramos free throw. The Valiants hit both of their three point tries in the quarter, with Tucker and Debrocky each connecting from deep to push Manhattanville's lead up to 10 with four minutes left in the quarter. The Knights sliced the deficit in half before O'Mara and Tucker connected on layups to put the Valiants back up 19-10 at the end of the opening quarter.
After a scoreless 1:47 to open the second,
Madison Carlo (Carmel, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic) broke the spell to spot the Vals an 11-point lead. The Knights were able to fight back to a five-point deficit before a pair of O'Mara free throws and a jumper and three from Debrocky swelled the Valiant lead up to 12 with 2:49 left in the half. Mount Saint Mary seized momentum at the tail end with a 7-1 run to bring their halftime deficit tow six, 34-28.
The Knights played a suffocating press defense to come out in the third, completely erasing Manhattanville's lead two minutes into the half at 37-37. The Valiants went back in front with six-straight points, but Mount Saint Mary swung back in control by outscoring Manhattanville 12-3 over the final five minutes to take their first leads of the night and carry a 49-46 advantage into the final frame.
Mount Saint Mary accounted for the only two baskets over the first three and a half minutes of the fourth to build their lead up to a game-high eight. The Valiants were able to collect themselves and go on a 12-3 run over the next five and a half minutes to take the lead with 83 seconds left to play on a Tucker layup to set the stage for Orlando's answered prayer.
Up Next
The Valiants open a three-game road trip on Thursday night in Patchogue to take on Saint Joseph's Long Island at 7 p.m.
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