HUNTINGDON (PA)---Delaware Valley Women's Basketball found themselves trailing by 13 after the first quarter, but outscored Juniata in each of the final three quarters to earn a 78-69 victory for their second win of the season to wrap up the Juniata Classic. Haley Keenan, who averaged 16.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game over the past two contests, was named to the all-tournament team. The sophomore had a career-high 23 points and 20 rebounds in the win.
The teams traded baskets early on, as a fast-paced start resulted in an 8-7 Juniata (2-2) lead just three minutes in. From there, the Eagles rattled off a 13-4 run to hold a 21-11 lead with under four minutes left in the quarter. Lauren Moretti scored four straight points for the Aggies (2-3), but Juniata answered with the final seven points of the frame to lead 28-15 after the first.
DelVal quickly turned things around in the second quarter, scoring the first six points to trail 28-21. Juniata held a 34-25 lead with under four minutes left, but the Aggies scored five straight to close the gap to four. After two Eagle free throws, Taylor Richardson converted a three-point play, Haley Keenan connected on a layup and Jenna Schiessel made a basket to put together a 7-0 Aggie run, giving DelVal their first lead since 2-0. A Grace Long bucket put Juniata ahead 38-37 heading into halftime. The Aggies shot a remarkable 9-11 (81.8%) from the field in the quarter while holding Juniata to 3-17 (17.7%).
The Eagles came out hot in the third, expanding their lead to 44-37 with a 6-0 run. With the Eagles holding a 51-46 advantage midway through the quarter, the Aggies exploded for their biggest burst of the game with a 12-0 run to take a 58-51 lead. The spark started with two free throws from Richardson and one from Moretti to trim the deficit to two. After a Juniata turnover, Moretti connected from beyond the arc to put DelVal in front 52-51. Haley Keenan followed up with a triple of her own off a Scarlett King assist. Kyarra Williams then split a pair of foul shots and Keenan added a basket to complete the 12-0 run. The Eagles got a late bucket to trail 58-53 after three quarters.
An early Juniata layup trimmed the DelVal lead to 58-55, but the Aggies scored the next six points to lead 64-55. The Eagles fought back, cutting the advantage to 66-63 with 5:26 remaining, but Keenan and Richardson each knocked down a shot to grow the lead back to seven at 70-63 with 3:40 left. Two Juniata free throws brought the Eagles to within five, but that was as close as they would get for the remainder of the game, as the Aggies connected on their next two shots and went 4-6 from the charity stripe to finish off the victory.
Haley Keenan had a huge day for Delval, finishing with a career-high 23 points and 20 rebounds. She also added five steals, two blocks and two assists.
Lauren Moretti had a season-high 20 points for the Aggies with four assists and three steals.
Taylor Richardson recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. She added four steals and three assists.
Kyarra Williams was the fourth Aggie in double figures with 13 points.
After allowing the Eagles to hit 60% of their shots and allowing 28 points in the first quarter, DelVal held Juniata to just 24.1% from the field and 41 points over the final three quarters.
The Aggies will be back in action Tuesday, November 23rd at Penn-State Abington for a 5:30 tip-off.
