OLD WESTBURY, NY --- (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com)SUNY Old Westbury women's basketball lost a 71-52 home opener to the Manhattanville Valiants on Monday evening in non-conference action from Clark Athletic Center.  Old Westbury evens its record at 2-2 on the season as Manhattanville collected the wire-to-wire victory to improve to 4-1.

Ashley Raaf sank a free throw 15 seconds into play to put the Valiants up for good.  Down 12-7 more than halfway through the first quarter, Monique Joseph dropped in a layup followed by Imani Lariosa's three-pointer that tied the game at 12-12 for Old Westbury with 3:05 remaining.  Entering the second quarter with a 16-15 lead, Raaf's layup sparked a 6-0 run for Manhattanville's 22-15 advantage.  Old Westbury answered with an 11-5 run from 7:56 to 2:02 to make it a 27-26 game before the Valiants countered with 12 unanswered points to go up 39-27. 

The Panthers scored six of the opening nine points out of the second-half gates to pull within seven points (42-35).  Manhattanville would later build its third-quarter lead to 14 points (53-39) with 2:27 remaining.  Joseph converted a pair of free throws with 7:48 left in the fourth quarter to make it a 54-47 game.  From there, Manhattanville outscored the Panthers 17-4 over the final 7:38 to earn the road win. 

Joseph came off the bench to produce her first-career double-double by scoring a career-high 10 points and grabbing 10 boards (tied career-high).  Kendra Jordanfollowed with seven points, five assists (tied career-high) and five rebounds.  Olivia Ilardi nabbed a team-leading two steals.  Bridgid McNeill and Nikki Alexander each rejected two shots. 

Ashley Franklin posted a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double to pace Manhattanville.  Raaf finished with 13 points while Bri Pabon and Kayleah McGuire each followed in double-digit scoring with 12 points and 11, respectively. 

Old Westbury shot 23.7 percent (18-of-76) from the field, 14.8 percent (4-of-27) from three-point territory and 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the free-throw line.  In comparison, Manhattanville landed 39.4 percent (26-of-66) from the floor, 0-of-6 from beyond the arc and 54.3 percent (19-of-35) from the charity stripe.  The Valiants registered a 58-53 advantage in rebounds, scoring 13 second-chance points off 18 offensive boards.  Manhattanville also held the edge in assists (14-11), steals (13-8), points in the paint (44-24) and fast-break points (16-8), while Old Westbury turned 20 Valiant turnovers into 11 points  

ST. JOSEPH'S (BROOKLYN) BEARS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury opens Skyline Conference play on Wednesday (Dec. 2) from The Hill Center in Brooklyn at 5:30 p.m. versus the St. Joesph's (Brooklyn) Bears.     

For the latest news on the Panthers, log on to www.oldwestburypanthers.com – the official site of Old Westbury athletics. Also, become a follower of the Panthers on Instagram (OW_Panthers) and Twitter (@OW_Panthers), and "LIKE" Us on Facebook (Old Westbury Panthers Athletics & Recreation / Old Westbury Athletics Alumni).