Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Championship Game

No. 2 Delaware Valley University Aggies

At

No. 1 DeSales University Bulldogs

Thursday, March 18 – 7 p.m. EST

Billera Hall – Center Valley, Pa.

 

LIVE VIDEO - https://athletics.desales.edu/watch/?Live=498&type=Live

LIVE STATS - https://athletics.desales.edu/sidearmstats/wbball/summary

 

Per conference rules and guidelines, no fans will be permitted into the game.

 

The Delaware Valley University women's basketball team finished the abbreviated 2021 regular season with a 4-2 record in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom play to earn a berth in the conference championship game at rival DeSales University on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Thursday will mark the second conference championship appearance for the Aggies under head coach Laura Hogan, a 1990 graduate of DelVal and a member of the DelVal and MAC Hall of Fame. The program qualified for the conference playoffs 11 times in the last 25 years, with a run to the finals in 2002.

The Aggies enter the game riding a four-game win-streak with an average margin of victory of 16.5 points. The .667 win-percentage in MAC Freedom play placed the squad in a tie for second place with Misericordia University but by virtue of tiebreakers, the Green and Gold earned the nod.

Delaware Valley is looking for its first win over the Bulldogs since a 75-71 home victory on January 22, 2016. DeSales, a perennial conference powerhouse and reigning two-time MAC Freedom champions, has won 21 of the last 25 meetings between the two programs, including each of the last nine.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES

The Aggies offense is second in the league among teams that have played at least five games with 56.1 points per showing, 28.4-percent shooting from 3-point land, and 72.3-percent from the free-throw line. DeSales is the only conference team better in those categories. From the field, the Aggies are shooting at a 36.8-percent clip.

Defensively, the team allows 54.8 points per game, third in the conference, and holds opponents to just 32.2-percent shooting from the field. The Aggies have forced teams into 17 turnovers per game and rebounds have been near-even as DelVal has pulled down 307 to 308 from its opponents.

Three starters rank among the top-six scorers in the league, led by junior forward Emily Kutskel (Ebensburg, Pa./Bishop Carroll Catholic) and her 13.9 points per game, good four fourth. Rookie Haley Keenan (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) follows with 11.8 points per showing and sophomore Shayne Glenn (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) is close behind with an 11.1 average.

Kutskel works out of the paint and is fourth in the league in field goal percentage at 48.8-percent (42-of-86). From the charity stripe she is second in made free throws as she goes 27-for-37 (73%) in that category. Kutskel anchors the defense with a Division-III leading 36 blocks in eight games (4.5 avg.) to go with six rebounds per game and six steals overall.

Glenn does most of her damage from beyond the arc where she leads all players in the MAC Freedom with a 37.5-percent mark on 12-of-32 shooting. Overall, from the field, Glenn is sixth in shooting at 43.2-percent, and Keenan sneaks into the top-10 with 37.1-percent average from the field, good for ninth.

Glenn is fourth in the conference in assists with three per game and, with just 18 turnovers on the season, she is tops in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3).

Keenan is second on the team in steals and blocked shots with 14 and six, respectively, for the year and pitches in 4.9 rebounds per game.

Senior team captain Lauren Moretti (Sea Isle, Nj./Wildwood Catholic) and first-year Taylor Richardson (Orrtanna, Pa./Gettysburg Area) round out the starting lineup.

Moretti leads the team with 28 assists and 18 steals, which places her second and fourth in the conference, respectively. She is tied for second on the team with six rebounds per game and chips in 8.6 points per showing. From the line, Moretti is tied for fourth in the conference in percentage and free throws made at 20-for-25 (80%).

Richardson leads the Aggies with 7.6 rebounds in the game, the third-best average in the league, and contributes 5.5 points per game with 11 assists and seven steals on the year.

Kyarra Williams (Manchester, Nj./Woodbury), Kayla Stankiewicz (Reading, Pa./Lancaster Country Day School), and Jenna Schiessl (Brick, Nj./Brick Memorial) see the most time off the bench. Williams averages 2.4 points and rebounds per game with six steals and six assists on the year.

 

SCOUTING DESALES

The Bulldogs come into Thursday's contest with an 8-0 record this season and having won back-to-back MAC Freedom titles with appearances in each of the last five conference championship games. This season, the team has been in consideration for the top-25 all year long and has outscored its opponents by an average of 39.6 points per game. Dating back to last season, DeSales has won 22 consecutive MAC Freedom contests.

The Bulldogs average 82 points per game and hold opponents to a mere 42.4 average. They shoot 48.7-percent from the field, 37.9-percent from deep, and nearly 73-percent from the free throw line. On the glass, they outrebound opponents by 7.1 per showing. Defensively, they force 26.8 turnovers per game while only giving the ball up 13.4 times on average.

Junior Avery Jordan, a 2019-20 All-American honorable mention, leads the team with 15.6 points per game to go with 4.9 rebounds per showing, nine steals, and six blocked shots. She leads the conference in shooting percentage as she goes 50-percent from 3-point land just over 50-percent from the field in just 19.9 minutes played per game.

Fellow junior Rylie Rittenhouse follows with 10.8 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 53.2-percent from the field, 81-percent from the line, and 35-percent from deep. Senior Isabel Caruso has 32 steals, 18 assists on the year, and averages 8.8 points per game. The leading rebounder is rookie Mikaela Reese at six per game and she is third on the team in scoring average at 9.4.

Head coach Fred Richter has 10 players that have seen 12 minutes per game or more and seven with greater than five points per game. His team plays fast and will press at both ends while looking to create offense off of turnovers.

The Aggies and the Bulldogs tip-off at 7 p.m. on Thursday night for the 2021 MAC Freedom Championship.