BOX SCORE

Purchase, NY (December 1, 2010) – In a rematch of the last two Freedom Conference title games Manhattanville College took the first of two regular season meetings, 66-58, despite junior Cherelle Simmons recording her third double-double of the season and freshman Sondrine Glovas scoring a season and team-high 16 points for the Bulldogs on Wednesday evening in Kennedy Gymnasium.

The opening half saw DeSales (3-3, 0-1 Freedom) shoot just 28.6 percent as Manhattanville (3-3, 1-0 Freedom) pushed a three-point advantage (18-15) into a nine-point lead with a quick 6-0 run mid-way thru the half.

Senior Lori Lidlow connected on a trey a few possessions later to pull DSU within six but an 8-0 Valiant run answered Lidlow's trifecta and MVC settled for a 10-point halftime cushion (39-29). MVille shot 38.2 percent from the field in the opening half as each team took good care of the ball with just six turnovers each.

The Bulldogs got off to a quick start in the second half chipping away at the deficit and a lay-up from Lidlow at the 14:35 cut the margin down to four (43-39). The Bulldogs, however, committed five turnovers over the next three minutes, squandering a chance to pull even closer.

The game went back-and-forth over the next few minutes as DSU trailed by just five at the 10:22 mark before a quick 6-0 run gave the hosts an 11-point lead with 8:57 to go, prompting a Bulldog timeout. Out of the timeout, DeSales responded with a 5-0 run including a three-point play from Simmons to make it 55-49 at the 7:09 mark.

DeSales got within six on two more occasions with the last coming with just 25 ticks left as the Valiants held on for the important early season victory.

Glovas led the way with 16 points and also pulled down a season-high nine rebounds. Simmons added 13 points and 10 boards and Lidlow also finished with 13 points. Sophomore Hannah Smith had six assists and freshman Megan Gallagher had a strong game with seven points and four rebounds off the bench.

Courtney Turner and Carey Hickey each had 17 points with Hickey dishing out six assists and Kelli Hyjek totaled 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Valiants.

The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday when they host Delaware Valley College in another Freedom Conference game beginning at 1:00 pm in Billera Hall.