GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team suffered a 64-60 defeat at the hands of the Manhattanville Valiants in the consolation game of the Gwynedd Mercy Tip Off at the Griffin Center on Sunday afternoon.
The first half featured an 18-4 run by Manhattanville which put the Valiants up 20-10 with 12:37 remaining. During that stretch, the Valiants took advantage on the glass, pulling down three offensive rebounds which led to six second chance points.
The Fords answered with a 15-2 run to take a 25-22 lead highlighted by five points from senior Elizabeth Lynch and freshman Anna Schrecengost. Haverford expanded its lead to as high as seven points (31-24) before heading into halftime up 35-30. The Fords made 14-of-16 free throws in the first half after only attempting eight in yesterday's loss to Lebanon Valley.
The Valiants tied the game at 38 with 16 minutes remaining led by six points by Joiada Darnell. The rest of game featured three ties and six lead changes with no team taking a lead of more than five points. With the Valiants up 57-55, Lynch sank a three-pointer to give the Fords a lead with 3:53 left in the game. A few possessions later, Ashley Franklin's layup gave Manhattanville a lead that it never relinquished. Senior Jacquelyne Pizzuto's bucket cut the Fords' deficit to a single point with two minutes to go, but they couldn't get any closer. Despite creating two turnovers in the final minutes, Haverford couldn't convert its opportunities.
During the second half, Manhattanville shot 44.4 percent from the field and made 10 free throws while Haverford only went 11 of 38 from the floor (28.9 percent) and attempted just one free throw.
Lynch finished with a team-high 21 points while adding in five rebounds and three assists. Schrecengost finished one rebound shy of a double-double (10 points and nine rebounds) and dished out six assists.
Freshman Samantha Wetzel was two points short of a double-double, scoring eight points and picking up a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench. Pizzuto had 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and was named to the all-tournament team. Alyson Caiazzo scored a game-high 25 points while Franklin registered 17 points in the victory.
Head coach Bobbi Morgan's team fell to 0-2 on the season while Manhattanville improved its record to 1-1. The Fords have their home opener vs. Scranton on Tuesday at the Gardner '84 Arena at 7 p.m.