PURCHASE, N.Y. – A special, emotional night in Kennedy Gymnasium ended in victory for the Manhattanville University women's basketball team as the Valiants kept riding momentum to an eighth-straight win, defeating Sarah Lawrence 80-34. Manhattanville continues to improve on the best conference start in program history, now standing at 14-0 against the Skyline Conference and improving to 16-3 overall.
The team dedicated Wednesday's contest as a Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Game in memory of Daniella Carlo, the aunt of sophomore
Madison Carlo (Carmel, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic), who passed away after a courageous battle against cancer last March. The Valiants took to the court in warmups in pink shirts to honor Daniella and the Carlo family.
Carlo fittingly delivered off the bench, putting up 10 points on a 3-of-5 effort from the floor in eight minutes of action. She drilled a pair of shots from beyond the arc for her third game in double figures this season and came away with a pair of rebounds.
Kathleen O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) continued to be a menace all over the floor as she posted her second double-double of the season with 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. The sophomore also accounted for all four of the Valiants' blocks in the win while adding three steals and a pair of assists.
Esther Ramos (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) (14 points),
Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) (13) and
Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) (11) joined the aforementioned sophomore duo in double figures. Ramos trailed only O'Mara with seven rebounds and added a pair of steals and two assists to her ledger, while Tucker dished out a team-high six assists and led the way with four takeaways along with six rebounds. Orlando also helped get the offense flowing with three assists.
Shooting 57 percent in the opening half, the Valiants faced little adversity in getting out to a comfortable lead. Manhattanville held the Gryphons to just two field goals in the opening quarter and outscored Sarah Lawrence 16-1 over the final six minutes to take a commanding 25-6 advantage at the first buzzer. Ramos led the charge with six points, while
Julie DeBrocky (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) added four.
The Valiants kept firing at a 50 percent clip in the second quarter while Sarah Lawrence continued to struggle to find an offensive rhythm, ending the half on a 3-for-13 stretch. Back-to-back layups from Ramos and Orlando opened the quarter by pushing Manhattanville's lead up to 23. Manhattanville later went on 7-0 and 10-2 runs, bringing the lead up to 33 at the half at 46-13.
Despite going cold from the floor out of halftime, hitting 4-of-23 field goal tries (.174) in the third, Manhattanville's defense continued to cause headaches for the Gryphons. The Valiants could only put nine points on the board in the quarter but still held Sarah Lawrence to 11. Manhattanville scored seven straight points to close out the third, leading 55-24, before returning to form in the fourth. The Valiants shot 53 percent in the final frame, including a 4-of-7 mark from deep and a perfect 5-of-5 effort at the free throw line, outscoring the Gryphons 25-10 to close out the night with the 46-point win.
Up Next
The Valiants are headed for New York City when the team returns to action next week, taking on Yeshiva at 7 p.m. on Feb. 4.
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