DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – The Delaware Valley women's basketball team erased an early nine-point deficit and battled neck-and-neck with Stevens before a late fourth-quarter run lifted the Ducks to a 64–54 win on Wednesday night.
Stevens opened the night with a three-pointer and built a nine-point cushion in the first five minutes.
Aubrey Ennis sparked the Aggies with a three-point play, igniting a late 6–2 DelVal run to close the opening quarter. Despite the surge, the Aggies trailed 15–8 after one.
Emma Miller and
Alexis Wright opened the second quarter with baskets to cut the margin to two possessions, but Stevens quickly pushed the lead back to seven.
Alexis Lease-Springer knocked down a three and Wright converted another three-point play to pull DelVal within one, 18–17. After a brief Ducks spurt, Wright finished inside to spark an 11–4 Aggies run, keeping DelVal within striking distance at the break, 29–28.
DelVal came out firing in the third quarter, as Lease-Springer and Wright scored on back-to-back layups to give the Aggies their first lead, 32–31, less than two minutes in. The teams traded baskets and lead changes over the next five minutes, with
Whitney Evans knocking down a jumper to tie the game at 37. Stevens briefly pushed ahead by five, but Miller beat the buzzer with a fast-break layup to keep it a one-possession game heading into the fourth, 42–39.
The Ducks opened the final quarter with an 7-2 run to stretch the margin, but DelVal's defense responded with key stops before Lease-Springer completed a three-point play to halt the drought. Miller scored inside and Evans and
Ciana Feliciano each drilled triples to keep the Aggies within two possessions with under two minutes to play. Late foul trouble sent Stevens to the line, and an 8–2 closing run sealed the outcome.
Evans paced the Aggies with 17 points and added a team-high three steals. Lease-Springer and Wright each finished in double figures and shared team-high honors on the glass with nine rebounds apiece.
DelVal returns to action on the road this weekend, traveling to King's for a conference matchup on Saturday, Feb. 14, with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
