PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's basketball team opened the 2025-26 campaign on Sunday afternoon, battling to the wire against No. 22 SUNY Geneseo in a 65-62 nailbiter inside Kennedy Gymnasium. With the loss, the Valiants have dropped its season opener for the first time since 2014.

A pair of 16-point outings from Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) and Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) led the Valiant offensive effort to begin their senior campaigns. Tucker shot 6-of-13 from the floor with a pair of shots from deep and two free throws, while Orlando ended with a 5-for-14 clip, going 4-for-6 at the stripe and hitting a pair of three pointers.

Esther Ramos (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) and Julie DeBrocky (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) joined their senior classmates in double-figures with 12 and 11 respectively as the Valiant starters accounted for 60 of the team's 62 total points.

In addition to her team-high three three-pointers, DeBrocky also paced Manhattanville's effort off the board with six rebounds. Tucker dished out a team-high four assists and added five of the Valiants' seven steals.

After three early ties brought the game to 10-10 through the opening five minutes, Manhattanville took over with a 9-0 run to close out the quarter. Ramos hit a layup and a three on back-to-back possessions before Orlando and Tucker hit layups to close out the opening period with the Valiants on the right end of a 19-10 lead.

A pair of Molly Russom (Broadalbin, N.Y./Broadalbin-Perth) free throws to open the second quarter pushed Manhattanville's lead to 11. Geneseo began to click over the ensuing four minutes, going on a 12-2 run to slash the Valiant advantage down to a lone point at 23-22 with 5:21 left in the half. Manhattanville responded by coming back to life in the closing 4:22 on a 15-5 run to retake the double-figure lead. Orlando hit a three with 11 seconds remaining to push the home side's lead up to a game-high 14, but Zephyr Connolly beat the buzzer with a heave of her own to send the contest into the half with the Vals up by 11.

The Knights flipped the script coming out of the locker room, shooting 77 percent from the floor in the third quarter to even up the game at 49-49 with 54 seconds remaining. Geneseo took its first lead since 5:39 in the first quarter on a pair of Connolly free throws before Eva Elliot delivered the final bucket of the frame to put the Knights up 52-49 entering the final ten minutes after outscoring Manhattanville 25-11.

Now playing catch up, the Valiants were able to pull back within a single point on three separate occasions in the fourth. Geneseo responded in turn with baskets of their own to maintain the lead, building their lead to a game-high six at 61-55 with 4:41 to play. The Valiants scored seven of the next points to make it 63-62 with 19 ticks remaining, but Geneseo hit the free throws it needed and held the Valiants off the board on the other side of the court to survive the scare, escaping Kennedy Gymnasium with the 65-62 win.

Up Next
The Valiants look to rebound in the team's road opener on Wednesday at Medgar Evers.

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