Manhattanville shot a lights-out 61% in the second half as the Misericordia University women's basketball team fell 75-55 to the Valiants, Saturday in Purchase, NY.

The Cougar loss gives Manhattanville the number-one seed in the Freedom Conference and ensures that the teams will meet again in the first round of the playoffs on Wednesday.

Junior Christine Marks led MU with 19 points and eight rebounds. Tyann McDaniel added 12 points, and senior Courtney Sykes had five assists.

A 17-4 Manhattanville run was broken by Jesse Robinson just after halftime to make it 37-23, but the Valiants were just starting to heat up.

Marks hit a pair of free throws to inch within 13, but Manhattanville answered with its fifth consecutive hoop to go up 42-27.

The Valiants would eventually go on a torrid 10-of-11 stretch from the field to blow the gap wide open. The hosts' ninth hoop in 10 tries made it 52-30, and while McDaniel hit a three at the other end the Valiants scored again to bring their advantage back to 21.

The Cougars made one more push to get back into the game, with Hannah Seely's steal leading to a Robinson bucket and four straight points from Marks pulling MU within 15 at 54-39. It was the closest Misericordia would get however, as the Valiants kept knocking down shots from all over the floor.

The Valiants had ended the first half on a 15-4 run that put Misericordia on the back foot heading into the break. Katie Drayton finished after a nice cut to the basket with 3:45 left to stay close at 24-19, but it was the final field goal MU would hit in the period.

The Cougars only scored two baskets in the opening 9:55 of action but held tight on the defensive end, and were only down 10-7 after Marks' basket midway through the half.

McDaniel hit a crucial three-pointer to make it 17-15 Manhattanville with 5:54 left before halftime, but the Valiants would soon open up their lead.

Misericordia (15-10, 9-5) will be the fourth seed in the Freedom Conference playoffs and faces a semifinal trip to Manhattanville (17-8, 10-4) for the second consecutive year. The game will be Wednesday night, time TBA.