Women's Basketball Falls in Skyline First Round

Purchase, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) women's basketball saw its season come to an end with a 69-52 loss at Manhattanville College in the first round of the Skyline Championship Tournament on Tuesday evening.

Sophomore Lanyah Ford led the Golden Eagles with 17 points while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing two assists. Senior Alyssa Signor finished with 10 points and six boards with freshman Brianna Cordell claiming a team-best 11 rebounds.

Ali Mikaele paced the Valiants with 22 points on 10-for-22 shooting from the field and finished with a game-high 18 rebounds. Niyona Smith and Kristen Scrobola contributed 10 points apiece off the bench.

A tightly contested first half saw 10 lead changes between the two sides and after the Golden Eagles took a slim 16-15 advantage into the second quarter it was the Valiants who went into halftime ahead 31-26.

The teams exchanged baskets to open the third frame and a bucket from Ford at the 7:04 mark saw the Golden Eagles inch to within two, 35-33. An 8-0 streak from the Valiants midway through the quarter put the home team up by 10, 47-37, and they would head into the fourth leading 41-30. Manhattanville's Spencer Shore gave the Valiants their largest lead, 67-47, of the night following a pair of free throws with less than two minutes left to play and the hosts went on to claim the 69-52 win.

As a team, SJC shot 29.0% from the field while the Valiants finished at 39.1%. The Valiants outrebounded the Golden Eagles 52-38 and held a 30-12 advantage in the paint.

The Golden Eagles wrap up the 2021-22 season at 15-8 overall with a 12-8 Skyline mark. The Valiants improve to 19-7 on the season, 14-6 Skyline, and advance to face top-seeded Mt. St. Mary on Thursday.