Manhattanville falls to 5-11 overall and 3-5 in the Skyline Conference.
“Overall I think our kids put out a great effort,” head coach Candice Brown said, “and I am saddened as a coach that we did not come up with a win.”
The Valiants were out for revenge tonight as they played host to the Old Westbury Panthers. Manhattanville fell earlier in the season at Old Westbury 59-56 and knew they were in for a battle tonight. The Valiants shot 44.8% from the field in the first half, building a 10-point lead, but could not hold on down the stretch.
The Valiants got off to a great start leading by as many as 10 in the first half. Reznicek shot 2-3 from three- point land and led Manhattanville with 12 points heading into halftime. The Valiants were ahead 34-26 at the break. Old Westbury would not go away and continued to hang in the game.
“Kim had an awesome game,” Brown said. “She played big as a senior should, she stepped up and took control of the game. She kept the team together.”
Manhattanville opened up the second half on a seven to two run and had their biggest lead of the game, 41-28 with 17:50 to play. The Panthers would answer right back and go on a run of their own. Coming out of a time out, the Panthers would cut the Valiant lead to two, 48-46 with 10:13 remaining thanks to an 18-7 run. Old Westbury would take their first lead since early in the game when Ashawn Ferguson would lay in two of her 16 points from the paint.
Both teams would trade baskets down the stretch thanks to 38 attempted foul shots in just the second half of action. The game saw 42 fouls.
Foul trouble was costly for the Valiants throught the game. Freshman Cyntrell Robinson fell one rebound short of another double-double as she scored 10 points and hauled in nine rebounds in just 18 minutes of action after getting into foul trouble early in the second half.
“The post being in foul trouble and with Legs (Lauren Grenier) not being in the rotation it really hurts,” Brown added.
The game would come down to the wire. With Old Westbury ahead 60-56 with :23 left, freshman Janice Kane would calmly step to the foul line and sink two of her 14 points to cut the Panther lead to two. The freshman shot 100% from the charity stripe, going 6-for-6.
“We played a great game but we played against eight and not five,” Brown said, referring to the referees.
Manhattanville would foul and send Old Westbury to the line. Ashley Freeman would sink her first foul shot to go ahead 61-58 but her second foul shot did not count as she was called for a violation. Old Westbury had two foul shots in the last minute of the game called back because of lane violations.
For Manhattanville, sophomore Olivia Nastasi would hit a three to tie the game 61-61 with :17 to go. Old Westbury would attack the basket and Reznicek would be whistled for a foul with :02 remaining. Monique Midy would hit the her first foul shot but the second one would rim out and the Valiants had one last chance as Kane’s half court shot just fell short and Old Westbury was able to come away with the victory.
Manhattanville had 20 points off the bench and 19 second chance points, as compared to the Panthers seven bench points and 14 second chance, but it was not enough.
“As a coach I have to keep them mentally prepared because we have another big game on Saturday against Farmingdale,” Brown said. “It’s a winnable game for us.”
Manhattanville (5-11) will visit Skyline Conference opponent Farmingdale State on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. The Valiants need a win to stay in the playoff hunt.