BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Drilling 54 percent of their shots in the second half, the Manhattanville University women's basketball team pulled away late against Saint Joseph's Brooklyn in a Saturday road Skyline Conference tilt, taking down the Bears 83-52. Now winners of five-straight, the Valiants remain a perfect 11-0 in conference play while improving to 13-3 overall. Saint Joseph's Brooklyn drops back to .500 with the loss at 8-8 (4-7 SKY).

Esther Ramos (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) and Julie DeBrocky (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) were front and center in the win as Manhattanville's All-Conference selections from a season ago combined for 45 points and 16 rebounds. Senior Ramos shot .647 from the floor and connected on two of her three tries from deep for a game-high 24 points, her highest offensive total since the calendar flipped to 2026. Her classmate DeBrocky was equally as impressive, picking up her third double-double of the year with 21 points and 10 caroms.

Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) joined her fellow seniors in double figures with 12 points, adding three assists and three steals to her ledger. Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) led the team in both of the latter categories, finishing the day with a season-high six takeaways while handing out four assists.

Both offenses came out firing, battling to six tied scores and trading the lead six times in the opening quarter. Kathleen O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) scored on the opening possession for the Valiants before the Bears responded with a Nikki Grech layup and an Emma Centrella three-ball. Manhattanville tied the score three separate times, with the home team responding in short with a basket going the other way to retake the lead. The Valiants got back in front 14-13 on a pair of Tucker free throws, the first of five more lead changes over the final 3:49 of the opening quarter. Trailing 17-16, DeBrocky hit a pair at the line ahead of a pair of field goals from O'Mara and Tucker in the final minute to spot the Valiants the largest lead of the early going at 22-17.

The shooters cooled off in the second as both teams shot under 28 percent to close out the half. Saint Joseph's closed the gap over the opening two minutes to tie the game once again at 22-22. After trading a pair of baskets, Orlando hit a pair of free throws with 6:57 left in the half that began the momentum shift. The Bears would end the quarter 0-for-6 from the floor and turned the ball over five times as Manhattanville ended the half with nine unanswered points. After Orlando's conversions at the stripe, Tucker, DeBrocky, Maia Velazquez (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) and Ramos all hit from short range to put the Valiants up 34-25 at the horn.

The Valiants never looked back after taking the second quarter lead, quickly pushing the advantage to double-figures with baskets from Orlando and Ramos out of the half. The lead never fell below 10 and Manhattanville gained separation with an 11-2 run over the closing two minutes of the third to lead 60-41.

Manhattanville kept hitting shots, going 8-for-15 (.533) from the field and 3-of-6 from deep in the fourth to blow the game open. Conversely, Saint Joseph's Brooklyn ended the day just 2-of-11 from the floor. The Valiants opened the new frame on an 8-0 run across the first 1:43 to go up by 27 and never led by less than 25. One last 9-0 run for good measure put the visitors comfortably ahead 83-48 with 1:41 to go, cruising to the 83-52 final after the Bears converted on their free throw tries.

Up Next
Another three-game home stretch picks up on Wednesday night when the Valiants host Mount Saint Vincent at 6 p.m.

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