BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – A strong opening quarter led the Manhattanville University women's basketball team to its third-straight conference victory on Tuesday night as three in double-figures led the Valiants past Sarah Lawrence, 64-54. Manhattanville improves to 4-2 overall and remains perfect in Skyline Conference play at 3-0, while the host Gryphons fall to 2-4 (1-2 Skyline).

Esther Ramos' (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) red-hot start to the season continued as the senior led the Manhattanville offense with 20 points. Ramos reached 20 points for the third time across the opening six games, leading the Valiants with an average of 19.0 points per game. Ramos shot .529 (9-of-17) from the floor and hit two of her four three-point attempts.

Julie DeBrocky (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) put a 12 point, 12 rebound effort forward for the first double-double of her career, collecting a personal-high of caroms. DeBrocky was one of four Valiants with a pair of steals in the win, joined by Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley), Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) and Kathleen O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman).

Speaking of Orlando, she also reached double-figures offensively with 10 points. She's gone six-for-six in reaching double digits this season. The senior hit four short range buckets while going 2-for-2 at the free throw line.

While unable to join her classmates in double-figures, Tucker was heavily involved all over the floor with seven rebounds, second only to DeBrocky, a team-leading six assists, and the aforementioned two steals to go along with her five points.

The Valiants scored a game-high 19 points in the opening quarter to build out an early lead, ultimately needing all the points they could get against a resilient Sarah Lawrence squad. After five different tied scores through the first seven minutes of action, the Valiants closed out the first on a 10-0 run to take the lead into the second quarter. Ramos and Orlando provided four points apiece in the spurt, while O'Mara provided the other two points with her first bucket of the night.

The Gryphons responded by shooting 58 percent from the floor in the second quarter to chip away at Manhattanville's lead. The Valiants led by 14 following a DeBrocky three with five and a half minutes left, but Sarah Lawrence took over with a 13-2 run over two and a half minutes to slice the Manhattanville advantage all the way down to 31-28. Ramos regained some breathing room for the visitors, hitting a jumper for the final points of the half to put the Valiants ahead by five through 20.

Sarah Lawrence continued to claw back, opening the half on a 10-4 run to retake the lead on a Sarah Theriault three-pointer at 38-37. Manhattanville wasted little time getting the advantage back, as Ramos and Orlando combined for six straight points to swing the score to 43-38 in favor of the Valiants. Sarah Lawrence went scoreless over the final four minutes of the quarter as the Valiants added two more buckets before the horn to carry a 47-40 advantage into the fourth.

The Gryphons dominated the first five and a half minutes of the final frame of regulation, opening on a 12-3 run to take a 52-50 lead on a pair of Theriault free throws. DeBrocky would tie the game with a floater with 4:26 remaining, the last points from either side for nearly two minutes. It would be DeBrocky striking again to break the cold spell, hitting from deep to put Manhattanville back in front. After Kaila Dorch responded going the other way with a layup to make it a one-point game, Ramos delivered a clutch deep ball of her own to regain some distance at 58-54 with 87 seconds to go. The Valiant defense showed up when it needed to, holding the Gryphons 0-for-4 to end the game while Tucker and DeBrocky combined to go 6-for-6 at the free throw line to put the game to bed with the 64-54 decision.

Up Next
The Valiants return to the court after the Thanksgiving break on Wednesday, Dec. 3 to host Merchant Marine at 6 p.m.