DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – Whitney Evans paced the Delaware Valley women's basketball team with 18 points and helped fuel second- and fourth-quarter comeback efforts, but the Aggies came up short in the closing minutes, falling 53–45 to DeSales on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs jumped out to early momentum, building an eight-point lead before Evans got DelVal on the scoreboard by converting a pair from the free-throw line. DeSales answered with a 6–0 run, but a three-pointer from
Alexis Wright sparked a 5–0 Aggies response to trim the deficit to single digits, 14–7. The Bulldogs closed the opening quarter with a jumper to carry a 16–7 advantage into the break.
DeSales opened the second quarter with a 6–2 edge over the first three minutes to regain a double-digit lead, 22–11. Wright provided a spark with four straight points, igniting a 9–3 run that cut the Aggies' deficit to five, 25–20. The Bulldogs finished the half on a 6–1 spurt to take a 31–21 lead into intermission.
Evans and
Julianna Harris opened the second half with back-to-back layups to set the tone for DelVal, but DeSales responded with 10 unanswered points over the next five minutes to stretch its lead to 41–25.
Emma Miller and Evans added buckets in the final 2:25 of the third quarter to pull the Aggies within 12, 41–29, heading into the final frame.
An Evans three-pointer highlighted a 10–7 DelVal run to open the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to five points, 50–45. Both teams went scoreless for the next three minutes, as foul trouble sent DeSales to the line. The Bulldogs went 3-for-8 at the stripe down the stretch to seal the 53–45 decision.
Evans led all Aggies with 18 points, while
Ciana Feliciano controlled the glass with seven rebounds and added a team-high three steals.
DelVal returns to action on Wednesday, January 14, hosting FDU-Florham at 6 p.m. inside James Work Gymnasium.
