DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Delaware Valley College won its seventh game in a row and moved into a tie for first place in the Freedom Conference as the Aggies jumped out to a 26-point halftime lead and cruised to an 81-54 victory over visiting FDU-Florham.

The win kept Delaware Valley perfect at home this season as the squad moved to 10-0 in the friendly confines of James Work Gymnasium. More importantly, the Aggie win, combined with Manhattanville College's 53-52 home loss to DeSales University, places them in a first-place tie with the Valiants. Delaware Valley already sports a home victory over Manhattanville, technically putting the squad atop the standings. Four of the Aggies' final five regular-season games are on the road (including a trip to Manhattanville on February 16), beginning with a short journey to DeSales and the two-time defending champion Bulldogs on Saturday.

Wednesday marked the fifth straight game that Delaware Valley built a double-digit lead at halftime, this time a 50-24 advantage. The Aggies did so by hitting nine of 18 shots from 3-point land and holding FDU-Florham (10-10, 4-5) to 28.6 percent shooting from the field. They never trailed in the contest and used a 26-5 spurt to turn an 18-10 ballgame into a 44-15 score with 2:16 on the clock. Brittany Battinieri and Brittney Zimmerman hit four treys apiece and combined for 30 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Delaware Valley upped the lead to as many as 21 in the second half and hit three more 3-pointers as it finished 12-for-26 from downtown. The Aggies' strong defense continued as well as it held FDU-Florham to a 16-for-60 (26.7%) effort from the field, including just 2-for-13 from 3-point land.

Zimmerman finished with 18 points – all in the first half – and the sophomore guard also added eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Battinieri ended with five treys and 15 points while Jenna Peoples contributed 13 points. Sarah Delcasale came off the bench to pour in 10 points while Emily Soper had six points and a game-high 14 rebounds as the Aggies held a 57-46 advantage on the boards.

Courtney Young paced FDU-Florham with 15 points and six assists. Danielle Michlovsky, the Freedom's leading scorer (19.4 avg) and rebounder (10.5 avg), finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, but only two points and five boards came in the decisive first half.