DOYLESTOWN (PA) – The Delaware Valley University women's basketball team earned the third seed in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Championship Tournament and will visit the second seed FDU-Florham. Tip-off for the semifinal game is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24 at 7:00 p.m. in Madison, New Jersey.
 
It is the third straight year that the Aggies will face the Devils in the semifinal round. The winner of Wednesday's meeting will advance to the MAC Freedom Championship Game on Saturday, February 27 (time TBA, site at the highest remaining seed) to play the victor of Wednesday's other semifinal match-up between the top seed DeSales University and fourth-seeded Manhattanville College. The MAC Freedom champion will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs.
 
FDU-Florham took both regular season contests against DelVal, with the last meeting coming just four days prior to Wednesday's game. The Devils defeated the Aggies in Doylestown, 80-56 on February 20. FDU-Florham was victorious in its January 20 home meeting with Delaware Valley, 67-58. The Aggies held a 56-55 lead with 3:41 to go and trailed by just two (60-58) with 1:21 remaining, but the Devils recorded the final seven points.
 
This conference tournament appearance is the 10^th for head coach Laura Hogan's squad in the last 16 campaigns and their first three-year streak since qualifying four seasons in a row from 2001-04. Hogan, in her 20th year at the helm, has led the Aggies to 11 MAC Freedom playoff berths, five Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoff appearances and one ECAC South Region Championship.
 
This year's DelVal team returned just one starter and boasted seven freshmen. The Aggies struggled to find chemistry early on, stumbling to a 3-9 record in 2015. However, once the calendar flipped to 2016, the team caught fire, going 10-3, including winning seven of its first eight contests. Delaware Valley ended the regular season 13-12 overall with a 9-5 conference mark.
 
Graduate student Eireann Anastasi has been putting up monster numbers in her final year. The MAC Freedom Player of the Year candidate leads the conference in scoring with 19.6 points per game. Anastasi has registered double digits in 23 of the team's 25 contests, including 21 straight. The team co-captain has scored 20 or more points on 12 occasions, including a career high 40 at Misericordia. By doing so, Anastasi became just the fourth player in school history to reach that total in a game. She currently ranks second all-time in career points (1,697) and assists (412). Anastasi is also averaging 5.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.0 steals this season.
 
Junior Sam Foy and senior Kelsey Kilpatrick are contributing 11.9 and 11.7 points per game respectively. Kilpatrick leads the team with 66 three-pointers and her 164 career treys are tied for fifth all-time. The team co-captain has reached double figures 13 times this year, including a career best 24 against Wilkes. Foy has posted 10 or more points 18 times, including the last four contests. Her season high is 22 in the first meeting versus King's. She is also averaging 5.1 rebounds.
 
Freshmen Danielle Skedzielewski and Brianna Rivello round out the starting five. Skedzielewski pours in 10.0 points per contest and while bringing down 6.1 rebounds. She has reached double digit scoring on 15 occasions. Rivello leads the squad in rebounding (7.8 rpg). She grabbed a season high 15 against Goucher. Rivello's 6.0 points per game includes 17 versus Rosemont.
 
FDU-FLORHAM
 
Marc Mitchell is in his seventh year coaching the Devils. He led FDU-Florham to its first national title in 2013-14 when the squad posted a perfect 35-0 record. Last season, the Devils went 29-2, won their third straight MAC Freedom Championship and reached the NCAA Elite Eight.
 
FDU-Florham finished the 2015-16 regular season 19-6 overall and 11-3 in the conference. The Devils are ranked seventh in the most recent NCAA Atlantic Region rankings. They are 7-1 at home this season with the lone loss coming to DeSales University, 74-51 on January 16. FDU-Florham leads the MAC Freedom in scoring offense (71.5 ppg), scoring defense (58.6 ppg) and scoring margin (12.9).
 
Senior Shalette Brown is a MAC Freedom Player of the Year candidate herself, ranking first in the conference in rebounding (15.2 rpg) and second in scoring (18.2 ppg). The returning All-American has tallied 16 double-doubles in 25 contests. Brown has posted season highs of 31 points and 23 rebounds (twice).
 
Junior Alyssa McDonough is fourth in the MAC Freedom with 16.0 points per game. She is also averaging 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists. McDonough, a 2014-15 all-MAC Freedom honorable mention, posted a season high 25 points against Manhattanville.
 
Junior Rachel Groom and sophomore Danielle Leguillou are contributing 11.0 and 10.7 points per game respectively. Groom is second on the team with 6.1 rebounds per contest. She has registered season bests of 27 points and 12 boards. Leguillou is coming off her best performance of the year when she produced 20 points against the Aggies in the regular season finale.