PURCHASE, N.Y. – It was far from a happy start to the new year for the Manhattanville University women's basketball team on Thursday afternoon as the Valiants were defeated by Albertus Magnus 82-57 to open up the second half of the 2024-25 campaign. The non-conference loss has Manhattanville drop to 6-3 overall while the Falcons improve to 5-6.

Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep) had her best performance so far of her senior campaign, accounting for a season-high 18 on an extremely efficient 7-for-9 effort from the floor. Smith hit all four of her free throw attempts while adding four rebounds, an assist and a block.
Esther Ramos (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) was the lone other Valiant in double figures as the junior scored 12. Ramos walked away with five rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal in the effort.

Manhattanville's rebounding effort was paced by Kathleen O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) with the rookie pulling down eight caroms. O'Mara has averaged 5.9 rebounds per contest through the first nine games of her collegiate career, trailing only Ramos and Smith on the Valiants this season.

The Valiants had no answer for Caitlyn Scott as the White Plains native showed out in her homecoming with a season-high 37 points to lead the Falcons to victory. It was the second-straight game that Scott eclipsed 30 points and the third time this season as she hit six three-pointers as part of her 11 field goal effort along with a 9-for-14 effort at the line.

The 25-point loss was the largest margin of defeat the Valiants have suffered since Dec. 2023 when Manhattanville was bested by Wisconsin-Whitewater by 35.

The Falcons held a 17-9 lead through the first quarter, aided by the Valiants shooting just 1-of-7 at the free throw line. Albertus Magnus hit the opening two baskets before Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) and Ramos responded with the Valiants first points of the day on a [air of layups. Jakara Murray-Leach put the Falcons back in front with the first of 11 three-pointers as Albertus Magnus would lead for the remaining 36 minutes of play. The Falcons accounted for 10 of the final 15 points of the quarter to go up 17-9 at the first intermission.

Albertus Magnus exploded for 28 points in the second quarter to take an 18-point lead into the half. Murray-Leach opened the scoring again from deep to spot the Falcons their first double-digit lead of the day, with their advantage never dropping below ten. The Falcons shot 5-of-7 from deep in the frame compared to the Valiants' 1-for-4 mark. Scott opened the final minute of the half with a three and drew a foul on a three-point try in the following possession, hitting all three attempts at the stripe to put the visitors up by 20. Ramos accounted for the final basket of the half with a layup for the Valiants to bring Albertus Magnus' lead to 45-27 at the half.

The Valiants were unable to put much of a dent in the Falcon advantage as Albertus Magnus outscored Manhattanville 37-30 over the second half. The visitors led by as many as 31 with 3:49 left in regulation at 79-48. Manhattanville ended the day on a 9-3 run to bring the final score to 82-57, suffering back-to-back losses for the first time since Dec. 18-19 in 2023.

Up Next
Manhattanville looks to get into the win column for the first time in 2025 on Saturday as the Valiants wrap up non-conference play against Medgar Evers at 3 p.m. in Kennedy Gymnasium. 

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