Box Score MADISON (NJ) – Delaware Valley University got 21 points from
Ashley Smink and a career-high 14 points from
Morgan Mitchell, but could not overcome a 16-3, second-quarter run from Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU)-Florham which pulled away with a 69-56 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom victory.
The Aggies fell to 7-10 on the year and 3-3 in MAC Freedom games while the four-time defending conference champion Devils improved to 15-2 and 6-0 with their 13th consecutive victory.
In the first quarter, DelVal took a one-point lead when
Amber Grohowski found Mitchell open for a jumper to make it 11-10 with five minutes on the clock. FDU-Florham countered with eight of the next 11 points, behind four from Alyssa Mcdonough, to take an 18-14 lead. Smink stepped up for the Aggies and hit her second 3-pointer of the stanza to make it a one-point game after one quarter.
Smink opened the second with a layup to put DelVal back on top, 19-18. The Devils reclaimed the lead with consecutive layups. The Aggies then took their last lead of the game when Smink found Foy inside for a layup that made it 23-22 with 8:28 remaining in the half.
From there, FDU-Florham went on a 16-3 run behind seven points from Kendrea Williams and five from Michaela Piserchia to open up a 38-26 advantage with just over a minute to play in the second quarter. DelVal got a pair of free throws from Mitchell and a late layup on a nice post move from Skedzielewski to go into the locker room down eight, 38-30.
The Aggies got layups from Mitchell, Smallwood and Smink as part of a 6-1 run that cut the deficit to three, 39-36, early in the second half. However, Rachel Groom quickly found Mcdonough inside for a layup and Williams followed with a 3-pointer as the Devils regained the eight-point lead with just under five minutes left in the third. They eventually led 49-42 going into the fourth.
In the final stanza, Smink found
Sarah Wills open beyond the arc and she hit to pull DelVal to within four, 49-45, early in the quarter. However, the Devils responded again with an 11-4 run over the next five minutes to open up a 60-49 lead with 4:40 to play in regulation. They did not look back the rest of the way and closed out the 69-56 final.
Smink scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the first half. She also grabbed seven rebounds and handed out three assists. Mitchell added three rebounds and an assist to go with her career-high scoring total. Skedzielewski and Smallwood each grabbed nine rebounds.
For FDU-Florham, Mcdonough had the best day with 17 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Williams had a team-best 20 points and Groom notched nine points and 10 rebounds.
