PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's basketball team is returning to the Skyline Conference Championship Finals for the third time in the last four seasons after a dominant 81-58 win over fourth-seeded Farmingdale in the semis on Friday night. The top-seeded Valiants will now host No. 2 USMMA on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the Skyline crown.
Esther Ramos (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) picked a golden opportunity to erupt for a career-high as the senior put up 32 points on a .667 shooting night. Entering Friday night, Ramos' previous best was 27 points against Brooklyn from November. The Rams could not contain Manhattanville's All-Conference First Team selection, with Ramos going 4-of-6 from deep and 4-for-5 at the free throw line.
With Ramos a threat to score every time she touched the ball,
Kathleen O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) and
Gabby Tucker (Port Chester, N.Y./Blind Brook) were also able to feast with a combined 27 points. The sophomore O'Mara scored 15, her 11
th game reaching double digits, while collecting nine rebounds and blocking six shots. Tucker, meanwhile, logged a team-high five steals to go with her 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Julie DeBrocky (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) matched O'Mara's rebound total to lead Manhattanville off the glass.
Amanda Orlando (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) also provided three assists to equal Tucker's effort.
Shyann Parker scored the night's opening points 38 seconds into the contest before Tucker responded with a three. Parker hit another layup to give the Rams what proved to be their final lead of the entire game as the Valiants scored 11 straight points to jump out to a 14-4 advantage with 4:37 left in the opening stanza. Ramos provided four points in the run while O'Mara hit an old-fashioned three-pointer. The Valiants soon after pieced together another seven unanswered points, carrying a 23-9 lead into the second.
Manhattanville continued to roll with a 26-point second quarter, shooting 3-of-4 from deep and adding seven free throws. O'Mara hit both on the Valiants' first trip to the line of the quarter to begin the new frame. Farmingdale tried to chip away at Manhattanville's lead, getting as close as 11 with four minutes to go in the half. The Valiants responded by closing the half on a 14-6 run with DeBrocky beating the buzzer with a three to put the home side up 49-30.
The Valiants put the game out of reach in the third, shooting at 47 percent in the quarter to Farmingdale's 31. A Ramos three-pointer kickstarted Manhattanville's 10-0 run over the first two minutes of the half to go up by 29. Farmingdale got as close as 23 in the quarter with the Valiants ending on another run, outscoring the Rams 9-1 to carry the 72-41 lead into the final quarter.
The Rams outscored Manhattanville 17-9 in the fourth but were unable to make much of a dent in the lead as the Valiants cruised to the 23-point victory, matching Manhattanville's largest margin of victory in a postseason game since 2004.
Up Next
With the top seeds prevailing on both sides of the bracket, No. 1 Manhattanville hosts No. 2 USMMA on Sunday at 1 p.m. in a rematch of the 2023 Skyline Championship Finals.
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