PURCHASE, N.Y. - The Manhattanville University women's basketball team took down the Golden Eagles of Saint Joseph's Long Island University, pulling away in a tight contest with a strong third quarter. The Valiants extend their winning streak up to four, improving to 15-5 overall and 12-4 in conference play to move into third place ahead of SJLI.
Manhattanville took the tip to start the contest, but SJLI was first to strike, putting two up on the board. The Valiants turned the ball over three times before they leveled the score at 2-2 with 6:01 remaining in the first quarter. Manhattanville closed the gap shortly after making the score 6-5 with SJLI still leading. Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) drilled a three-pointer to take the lead at 11-9 with 43 seconds left in the first quarter. Golden Eagles Megan Spina responded with a three-pointer of her own to bring SJLI back in the lead, 12-11.
Both ends of the court opened the second quarter trading points. Four straight possessions on the court with baskets lead to a 20-17 score with the Golden Eagles leading. Esther Ramos (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) earned a spot at the foul line to close the gap even further to 20-19. She found herself back at the line about four minutes later, taking the lead for the Valiants, 23-22. Niyona Smith (Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep) nailed an up and under move in the paint to stretch the lead to 25-22 to end the first half.
Manhattanville opened the second half with the offensive upper hand making the first two baskets extending the score to 29-22 with two layups from Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) and Smith. One turnover after another for the following few possessions led to Tucker drilling two three-pointers to widen the gap to 35-28 with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter. The Valiants created a huge momentum shift forcing turnovers and earning a five-basket run to end the quarter in the lead 42-29 with a buzzer beater beyond the arc from Julie Debrocky (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac).
A steal and counted basket from Tucker started off the fourth quarter. The score remained stagnant for the following three and a half minutes before the Valiants found the basket again, 46-29. The Golden Eagles controlled three straight possessions beyond the arc to trim the margin to 46-38. High intensity defense helped Manhattanville earn more offensive possessions pushing the score to 52-28 with 2:08 remaining. The Valiants saw the light at the end of the tunnel capping off the contest at 53-43.
Three Valiants scored double digits for the night with Tucker on top with 17 points. Ramos followed closely behind with 13 points and Debrocky rendered ten.
Smith grabbed 12 boards for the night while Tucker, Debrocky and Kathleen O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) each secured six.
O'Mara was light with the points but helped her team to victory with four assists while Smith had three and Ramos had two for the night.
Up Next
Manhattanville looks ahead this week playing Yeshiva away on Thursday and then hosting them on Sunday at home in Kennedy Gymnasium.
VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads and YouTube. #WeAreValiant #GoValiants
