With only three conference games remaining, the Valiants knew they needed a win tonight to have a shot at the playoffs.
"Overall it was a sloppy game," head coach Candice Brown said. "We didn't play as well as I would have liked, but in the end a win is a win."
In a back and forth battle, the Valiants were able to go ahead when Leon would hit two of her 14 points to give Manhattanville the lead, 24-23 with 4:29 to play in the first half. The Valiants were able to build on that lead and head into half time ahead 31-27, thanks to shooting 48% from the field.
Leon led all scores with 14 points, while hauling in eight rebounds. Reznicek would add 11 points of her own while dishing out four assists.
"The seniors stepped up and had a big night for us," Brown added. "We had two seniors in double figures."
Sophomore Olivia Nastasi (Cold Spring, N.Y.) was one point shy of a double-double as she ended the game with nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers.
"Although shots weren't falling for Olivia, she contributed in other ways," Brown said.
The Valiants would have their biggest lead with 6:28 to play in the second half when Leon would hit a jumper to push Manhattanville ahead by eight, 47-39.
Freshman Janice Kane (Vernon, Conn.) would come off the bench and eight points and two assists.
St. Joseph's would not give up and would cut the Valiant lead to three with 3:34 to go. Freshman Cyntrell Robinson (New Haven, Conn.) would knock down her only two points of the game to push the lead back to five, 51-46.
Nastasi would hit one of her five foul shots and make the lead six. The Golden Eagles would add two more points but Manhattanville went 4-for-8 from the charity stripe in the last two minutes of play to fend off the St. Joseph attack. Manhattanville held on for the 55-49 victory.
anhattanville went 8-for-27 from the field in the half and ended the game shooting just 38.5% from the field.
On the other end, the Manhattanville defense caused 12 turnovers and held St. Joseph's to shooting 32.3% from the field for the game.
The Valiants will look to get their third straight win as they host the Mount Saint Mary Blue Knights on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. The Valiants defeated the Blue Knights earlier in the season winning 61-58. Reznicek led Manhattanville with 15 points in that game.