WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Manhattanville women's basketball team was led by four players who reached double-figures in points as the Valiants defeated the Eastern Connecticut State Warriors by a score of 63-60 at the Geisser Gymnasium on Monday night.
 
Manhattanville was led by senior Jennifer McSharar (Garnerville, N.Y./North Rockland) with 15 points, while classmate Taylor Wilson (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) added 13 points. Sophomore Alyson Caiazzo (Brooklyn, N.Y/St. Saviour) had 12 points, and classmate Shayna Robinson (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) picked up a career-best 11 points. For both McSharar and Caiazzo, they both finished the game with 10 rebounds apiece for their third and fourth double-doubles of the season respectively.
 
The game opened with both sides struggling to find the bottom of the basket through the first 51 seconds of the contest until Eastern Connecticut's Kristina Forsman hit a jumper to put the Warriors up 2-0. The Warriors then sank a three-pointer, before McSharar picked up Manhattanville's first point as she converted on a free throw to make it 5-1.
 
After yet another scoring drought from both sides, the Warriors began to pick up a rhythm as they outscored Manhattanville 9-2 to take its largest lead of the game at 11 points with 13:15 remaining in the first half. After baskets by Robinson and freshman Ashley Franklin (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) were answered by baskets by Eastern Connecticut, the lead remained at 11 until junior Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata) got the lead back down to single-digits.
 
After Mulkerin hit her first shot of the night, Robinson and Wilson hit shots of their own to shrink the Warriors' lead back down to five. Eastern Connecticut answered with two baskets to get the lead back to nine, but the Valiants were not done yet as they answered back down the stretch of the first half.
 
Sophomore Bri Pabon (Newington, Conn./Newington) hit a free throw with 5:57 to go followed by a layup from McSharar. The Warriors hit another jumper, but Robinson answered with four more points of her own, Wilson got in on the run with a three-point basket to pull Manhattanville back within one with just under two and a half remaining.
 
Freshman Ashley Raaf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Christ The King) hit her first three-pointer of the season to give Manhattanville the lead with over a minute to go in the first half, but the Warriors took back the lead heading into the halftime break with three unanswered of their own, with the score at 31-30 in favor of the home team.
 
After the break the lead tilted back and forth as Robinson and Caiazzo put the Valiants ahead, only to be answered back by Warrior baskets. The Warriors again, opened up a four-point lead after a free throw with 16:48 to go put Eastern Connecticut up 48-34.
 
Caiazzo hit a free throw followed by another three-pointer by Wilson to give Manhattanville the lead back by one point. Baskets were answered back-and-forth on both sides as neither team could open up a lead larger than two until the final 9:35 of the half at which point the Warriors took a three-point edge on a pair of free throws.
 
At the 6:59 point Caiazzo hit a layup to put the Valiants up 49-48, followed by a pair of free throws that were converted by McSharar and another Caiazzo layup to give Manhattanville a five-point lead, but once again the lead was shrunk back down to a pair as Shannon McCourt hit a free throw, McCourt led the Warriors with 18 points on the game.
 
Caiazzo hit another clutch layup to take a four-point lead, before Wilson hit a three-pointer to give the Valiants their largest lead of the game at seven points with time in Manhattanville's favor as 2:01 remained on the clock.
 
With 24 seconds left Jill Ritroski converted on a layup to pull the Warriors back within one at 61-60, but McSharar converted on a pair of free throws as Eastern Connecticut fouled with time evaporating off the clock to put Manhattanville up for good at 63-60.
 
The Valiants finished the game shooting 50.0% from the field on 23-of-46 shooting, while the Warriors shot 39.3% from the floor. The turnover battle was in favor of Eastern Connecticut State at 27-18, but rebounds were even at 33 apiece.
 
Manhattanville (3-1) opens up Freedom Conference play this Wednesday, when it travels to Eastern to take on the Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Connecticut (1-3) will host New Paltz tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m.