PURCHASE, N.Y. – In a battle of Skyline Conference heavyweights, the Manhattanville University women's basketball team won a thriller inside Kennedy Gymnasium on Wednesday night, defeating the United States Merchant Marine Academy 62-61. The Valiants get through the opening conference gauntlet unscathed, remaining a perfect 4-0 against the Skyline while improving to 5-2 overall.
As to be expected when the Mariners and Valiants meet, the showdown lived up to the billing with 19 different lead changes over the course of the game. The largest lead by both teams was just five points of separation, and the game came down to the final possessions.
Trailing 61-62,
Kathleen O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) delivered one of the biggest baskets of her career, finishing a feed from
Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) with a layup with 2:09 left and putting the Valiants in front. Defense took over for the final 120 seconds, as Manhattanville forced USMMA to take a pair of three pointers that went off target before swarming Carolae Barton, forcing her potential winning layup to go off target and holding on for the victory.
Julie DeBrocky (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) and Tucker combine for 43 of Manhattanville's point production, with both seniors going off for season-highs. DeBrocky scored 23, doing most of her damage from deep as she tied the program's single-game record with seven three-pointers. Tucker also found some success from beyond the arc, shooting 3-of-4 from deep while adding five more short range field goals.
Despite being held to single-digit scoring for the first time on the season,
Esther Ramos (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) was still able to be a difference maker off the glass with a team-leading seven rebounds. O'Mara added six caroms with her eight points, while DeBrocky ended with five.
Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) led the Valiants with four steals, coupled with her four rebounds, three assists and seven points. Tucker led the team with six total assists.
The first quarter set the stage for the back-and-forth action that spanned the night with five lead changes in the opening frame alone. USMMA got out to an early lead with short-range buckets from Breanna Sommers and Barton ahead of a Hannah Ramsden three to put the Mariners up 7-2 1:37 into the contest. The Valiants went on a 6-0 run with back-to-back Orlando layups and a follow-up one from Tucker to take their first lead of the night. The lead would trade four more times before the horn sounded, with O'Mara ending a 4-0 run with a pair of free throws to give Manhattanville the 17-16 advantage.
An O'Mara jumper started the second quarter scoring to give Manhattanville a three point lead. After playing hot potato with he lead four more times, the Valiants would take their largest advantage of the half on DeBrocky's third trey of the night, leading 30-26 with 3:14 in the half. It would only hold for a moment as back-to-back buckets from Jaden Lodice and Cevyn Crutcher tied the score up once again with 90 seconds to go. Tucker went 1-of-2 at the free throw line to put the Valiants back in front before Barton hit a layup. DeBrocky responded with one last three to end the half to put the home side up 34-32.
DeBrocky opened the new half how she ended the previous, hitting a three to give the Valiants a game-high five point advantage. Manhattanville was unable to build upon it as the team went cold, shooting 27 percent from the floor in the quarter. USMMA went back in front on a 6-0 run with 4:35 to got in the third and remained in front until Ramos hit a tying layup with 2:19 to play. The teams combined to miss the final six shots of the quarter to send the game into the fourth dead even at 43-43.
Ramsden broke the tie to put Merchant ahead with a quarter-opening jumper as the lead changed hands eight times in the closing ten minutes. DeBrocky and Tucker drilled back-to-back threes to put the Valiants up 49-45 with 7:53 to go. Manhattanville went a perfect 5-for-5 from deep in the final quarter, continuing to lead under five. Ramsden erased the deficit with a three of her own, the first of six lead changes in the final 3:55. The Valiants would strike last with O'Mara's final bucket before locking it down and sending the faithful home happy.
Up Next
The Valiants get a brief reprieve from conference play on Saturday, hosting Five Towns College at 1 p.m.
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