DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Brittney Zimmerman scored a game-high 26 points as Delaware Valley College sprinted out to a 36-6 lead in the opening 11 minutes and finished with an 84-66 victory over Misericordia University in a battle of second-place teams in the Freedom Conference.

The win was the sixth in a row for the Aggies as they improved to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the Freedom. They also remained just one game back of Manhattanville College in the Freedom standings and a perfect 9-0 at home this season. The loss dropped the Cougars into a third-place tie with DeSales University as they are now 10-8 overall and 5-3 in the conference.

It was all Delaware Valley on Saturday as, after a Jesse Robinson layup for Misericordia 16 seconds in, it scored 18 straight points for an 18-2 advantage with less than five minutes gone in the contest. Three minutes later, the lead was up to 23 and it eventually reached 30 at 36-6 with 8:55 still left in the half. The Aggies connected on 14 of 19 shots from the field (73.7%) during that time and forced the Cougars into nine turnovers. Zimmerman had 12 points during the run while Emily Soper added eight and seven points respectively.

Delaware Valley cooled down slightly for the rest of half and finished 18-for-32 (56.3%) from the field as it took a 46-24 advantage into the intermission. Zimmerman added two more treys to give her 18 points at the break.

Misericordia opened the second stanza with a 13-4 run - seven by Jesse Robinson and six from Courtney Sykes - to make it a 13-point contest, 50-37, with 14:08 remaining. However, the Aggies responded with treys by Brittany Battinieri and Vennera, with a Zimmerman jumper sandwiched in-between, to bump the lead back to 21 and they cruised from there.

Delaware Valley finished the game at 50.8 percent from the field (31-for-61), including a 10-for-22 (45.5%) effort from beyond the arc. Zimmerman led the way as the sophomore guard was 8-for-11 from the field (4-for-6 from 3-point land) and 6-for-7 from the foul line. She also added four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Battinieri hit four treys and finished with 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Vennera ended the afternoon with 11 points, five boards, four assists and three steals while Soper added 10 points and six rebounds. Sarah Delcasale came off the bench to pour in 10 points.

Sykes was 4-for-5 from 3-point land and finished with 14 points for the Cougars. Robinson and Christine Marks added 12 points apiece while Tyann McDaniel hit double digits as well with 11 points.