Box Score DOYLESTOWN (PA) – The Delaware Valley University women's basketball team clinched a spot in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Championship Tournament with a 77-45 victory over visiting Wilkes University on Saturday.
The Aggies got over the .500 mark for the first time this season (12-11). They are tied for third place in the conference with an 8-4 record. It is the sixth straight home win for DelVal and the third consecutive year it will play in the MAC Freedom playoffs. The Lady Colonels fell to 4-19 overall and 1-11 in the conference.
Wilkes had the first basket of the game but it was all Aggies after that. DelVal scored eight straight to lead 8-2 (7:38). Graduate student
Eireann Anastasi had five points and senior
Kelsey Kilpatrick sank a three-pointer. The Lady Colonels cut the deficit to two (10-8) with 5:25 to go in the opening quarter. The Aggies then closed out the period with a 15-6 stretch. Anastasi scored eight points, Kilpatrick followed with five and junior
Sam Foy made a jumper.
The score was 25-17 with 7:42 remaining in the second before Delaware Valley deposited 11 straight points. Foy produced seven of them while Anastasi and freshman
Danielle Skedzielewski had two apiece. It was the largest lead of the half for the Aggies at 19 (36-17) and they were ahead 39-21 at the intermission. Anastasi led all scorers with 15 points and Foy (11) and Kilpatrick (10) were also in double figures.
Wilkes was within 16 (41-25) and then DelVal busted the game open with a 12-0 run to lead 53-25 with 5:51 to go in the third. Kilpatrick scored six points, Foy had four and Anastasi converted a pair of free throws. The Aggies' biggest lead was 34 (65-31) with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.
Kilpatrick finished with a career high 24 points. She was 9-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-10 from three-point range. Kilpatrick also had six rebounds and three steals. Anastasi had 19 points, nine assists and three steals and, in the process, moved into second place on the school's all-time list with 400 assists (passing her her coach
Laura Hogan (nee Rotz)). Foy scored 15 points while freshmen
Monika Smallwood,
Amber Grohowski and
Danielle Skedzielewski grabbed nine, eight and six rebounds respectively.
Catey McFadden led Wilkes with 11 points. Cara Basile and Ashley Caster recorded seven and six points respectively. Haley Mesaros and Emelie Meinhart each corralled five rebounds.
DelVal visits MAC Freedom foe King's College on Tuesday, February 16 (6:00 p.m.).
