After trailing by as many as seven points in the first period, Stevens carried a 20-18 lead into the locker room at halftime. From there, the Ducks took control as they opened a 12-point cushion with seven minutes remaining. Down the stretch, Manhattanville (1-5, 0-2 Skyline) caught fire from the field and nailed four three-pointers to move to within one point at 48-47 with 18 seconds remaining.
Junior guard Jean Matusiak (Queens, N.Y.) came up huge at the line as she knocked down a pair of free throws with 18 ticks on the clock. On the final possession of the game, Stevens came up with a big defensive stand that resulted in a desperation three-point shot by the Valiants.
Matusiak finished with 10 points, four steals and four assists. Sophomore guard Dani Dudek (Rockaway, N.J.) had 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals. Freshman forward Brittany Fuller (East Rockaway, N.Y.) added 10 points. Freshman guard/forward Sarah Gehring (Spokane, Wash.) chipped in with nine rebounds (five offensive) while junior forward/center Rebecca Baldyga (Voorhees, N.J.) tallied seven rebounds in 15 minutes of action.
Manhattanville was led by freshman guard/forward Nina Johnson (White Plains, N.Y.), who had a game-high 13 points. Sophomore guard Olivia Nastasi (Cold Spring, N.Y.) added 13 points in the loss.
Stevens, which has won 22 of its last 25 games dating back to last year, dominated the boards as the Ducks out-rebounded the Valiants 53-33. Stevens had 26 offensive rebounds in the game. The Ducks also held Manhattanville to 34.6 percent (18-for-52) shooting from the field.
Coming up on Wednesday, Stevens will travel to Mahwah, N.J. to take on Ramapo College at 6 p.m.