CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Despite overcoming a 13-point halftime deficit, the Manhattanville College women's basketball team lost in heartbreaking fashion in overtime Wednesday night, falling to DeSales University on a layup at the buzzer in the quarterfinals of the MAC Freedom playoffs.
 
Senior Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King) scored her 1,000th point in the loss, making a layup in the fourth quarter to become the 15th player in program history to reach the mark.  The senior guard finished with a team-high 18 points on the night.  Freshman Kayleah McGuire (Somers, N.Y./Somers) and senior Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) both also reached double-figures in scoring for Manhattanville, netting 14 and ten points respectively. 
 
Poor shooting in the first half caused the Valiants to fall behind early.  Manhattanville (18-8 overall) shot just 29 percent from the field in the half, including just 25 percent from beyond the arc.  Raaf led the Valiants with seven points in the half but it was not enough as DeSales (20-6 overall) took a 34-21 lead into halftime. 
 
The Valiants came storming back in the second half however.  After a quick layup from Morgan McCollian pushed the lead to 15 to begin the second half, Manhattanville outscored DeSales 16-6 over the next six minutes to cut the deficit to three.  The Bulldogs responded with six unanswered points over the next two minutes, and made a layup with ten seconds remaining in the quarter to lead 47-39 after three quarters of play. 
 
Manhattanville would once again come storming back in the fourth quarter.  After going back and forth for the first seven minutes of the stanza, DeSales continued to lead by ten with 3:20 to play.  Manhattanville would score eight unanswered points, led with four points from junior Sarah Kelley (Ewing, N.J./Ewing).  After a McCollian layup, Raaf would make her historic basket, cutting the deficit to one with one minute to play.  Senior Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) would hit a huge three-pointer with 15 seconds to play to even the score, and the Valiant defense stood strong to force overtime.
 
In the extra period, Manhattanville shot 50 percent from the field and turned the ball over just one time.  After a McCollian layup, Raaf hit a jumper to give Manhattanville the lead.  The Valiants would extend the lead to four points with 1:41 to play.  Manhattanville would not relinquish that lead until the final buzzer.  After a loose ball traveled out of bounds, DeSales inbounded the ball to Jen Napolitano who found McCollian inside the paint.  McCollian's layup at the buzzer banked in to give DeSales the one-point victory. 
 
Despite the disappointing end to the season, the Valiants 2015-16 run is one to remember.  The team's 18 wins is the most since the team won 19 games during the 2009-10 season.  The Valiants were also ranked in all three of the NCAA regional rankings during the regular season, marking the first time that a Manhattanville women's basketball team accomplished the feat.