ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– After going winless through the league the first time around, Eastern University Women's Basketball is yet to drop a game in the second half. The Eagles (10-13, 5-7 MAC Freedom) picked up a fifth win in row with a 63-56 home win over Manhattanville. The Eagles keep their post-season hopes alive with win.

How It Happened:
The Eagles used stifling defense to build a 22-point fourth-quarter lead. The Valiants (16-6, 7-5 MAC Freedom) responded with an 18-to-2 run over a four-minute stretch to close the gap 56-50 with four minutes on the clock. Though Manhattanville pulled within five, the Eagles hit their free trows down the stretch to secure the win.

Eastern only made ten field goals in building a 34-19 halftime lead, but they were 5-of-12 from behind the arc and a solid 9-of-13 from the line. The Valiants meanwhile, could not get their shooters free and made only 9-of-27 shots and took only one free throw. Manhattanville hit just one 3-pointer in the first half. Minika Glenn had 11 of her 15 points and the Eagles enjoyed a 26-18 edge on the glass before the intermission.

The Eagles continued their efficient ways and matched their first half free throw totals in the third quarter. up 45-32 with two minutes to play, Eastern closed out the half on a 6-to-0 run. Eastern then scored the first three points of the fourth.

The Valiants then made it interesting. Sophomore guard Sarah Coutu found a little space and hit three 3-pointers in a four-minute stretch. She finished with a game-high 26 points. The Eastern lead, however, proved to be too big, and despite shooting only 1-of-10 from the floor in the fourth quarter, the Eagles held on for their fifth league win in their last five outings.

Viki Kneis joined Glenn in double-figures with 13 points. She added nine rebounds and two assists. Eastern shot only 17-of-58 from the floor in the game, but in a complete reversal of their season story, they made 23-of-32 foul shots. Manhattanville attempted 27 3-pointers and took only four free throws in the game. The Valiants took 38 free throws in their win over Eastern in Purchase this January.

Regie Robinson finished with nine points, 11 rebounds, and three blocked shots. Da'Naziah Brown finished with seven points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals with only one turnover in 35 minutes against the Manhattanville pressure.

Coach Houston Says:
"We are very happy to pick up a great home win. This team is putting it together and playing very well. We got off to a great start by executing and playing great defense. It got a little rough at the end. We got a little rushed and gave them more possessions than they should have had. We need to do a better job securing the boards, but we again found away to pull it out. We will need to address those things before we play again. We have a huge test on Tuesday."

Up Next:
The Eagles will host league-leading DeSales at 6:00 pm on Tuesday. The No. 13 Bulldogs have run roughshod over the league. Including today's 14-point win over second place Misericordia, DeSales is outscoring league opponents by 28.4 points per game this season. They have already secured the top seed in the MAC Freedom Tournament.

Mathematically, the Eagles can still finish ahead of King's or tied with Manhattanville. If the Eagles finish tied with Manhattanville, it will be because they have won the final two games and they would have the tiebreaker by virtue of a win over DeSales. King's who is 6-6 in the league, has games with Misericordia and Manhattanville. If the Monarchs lose out, the Eagles would get the fourth seed with a win over Misericordia or DeSales.

The DeSales game will be the final home game for Robinson, who has 1256 points and 854 rebounds in her career.