Purchase, NY (February 1, 2017) - The DeSales University women's basketball team shook off a poor first-half exploding for 53 second-half points erasing a 14-point halftime deficit in a 69-50 win at Manhattanville College in MAC Freedom action on Wednesday evening in Kennedy Gymnasium.

Junior Kaitlyn Kelly led the Bulldogs (16-4, 8-1 MAC Freedom) with a team-high 16 points, hitting four 3's.  Senior Morgan McCollian and sophomore Leandra Sterner each added 10 points, all in the second-half, and sophomore Katie Miller added nine points off the bench.  Senior Nikki Callahan had seven assists and freshman Molly Jansco led on the glass with nine caroms.

Manhattanville (7-13, 2-7 MAC Freedom) got a season-high 23 points from Kayleah McGuire and 11 each from Ivy Coles and Brittany Deieso.

DeSales finished the first quarter on a 6-0 run taking a 16-12 lead after the first 10 minutes but then went ice cold going 0-for-16 from the field in the second quarter not scoring a point as the Valiants put 17 tallies on the board opening up a 30-16 halftime advantage.

The second-half was all Bulldogs.

DSU methodically chipped away at the lead over the entire third quarter, scoring 26 points, eventually tying the game at 42 on two Walsh free throws late in the quarter.  Sterner caught fire in the quarter, scoring 10 straight Bulldog points at one point, as DeSales trailed by one (43-42) at the end of three quarters of play.

The Bulldogs gained complete control early in the fourth quarter as two 3's from sophomore Katie Miller led a 10-0 run to start the final stanza giving DSU a 52-43 lead with 7:05 remaining.  The lead swelled to 13 after five straight points from Kelly and DeSales cruised home the rest of the way.

After shooting just 21.9 percent in the first-half, DeSales hit 54.3 percent in the second-half, including 7-for-12 from outside the arc.  After committing 13 first-half turnovers, DSU committed just six in the second-half and took advantage of 25 Valiants miscues in the game to score 24 points.  The Bulldog bench out-scored MVC's bench, 35-3, and the Valiants hit just 13-29 from the free throw line.

The Bulldogs are back in action on Saturday when they host FDU-Florham in a battle of the two teams tied for first place in the MAC Freedom thru the first nine games.  Tip is set for 1:00 pm.