WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – T The Delaware Valley women's basketball team used a fast start and a dominant fourth quarter to secure a 66-62 victory over King's on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams traded early three-point attempts through the opening minutes before
Alexis Lease-Springer found the bottom of the net to spark a 9-0 Aggie run. King's answered with a triple of its own, trimming the deficit to 11-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Monarchs pulled within a single possession early in the second, but Lease-Springer and
Whitney Evans teamed up for a quick 5-0 burst to stretch the lead back to seven. After King's crept within four,
Ciana Feliciano knocked down a three and
Julianna Harris had a perfect trip to the line to help DelVal build a 23-14 advantage. A late Monarch bucket made it 23-16 heading into the locker room.
King's opened the second half with urgency, cutting the margin to three twice in the first 90 seconds.
Alexis Wright responded with a personal 7-0 run, pushing the Aggies to their first double-digit lead of the day, 32-22. The Monarchs caught fire from beyond the arc and evened the score at 35-35 midway through the third. Evans buried a go-ahead three, but King's closed the quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 42-40 lead into the fourth.
Lease-Springer finished through contact in the paint to tie the game early in the final frame. After another lead change,
Aubrey Ennis drained a three to ignite a game-changing 19-3 Aggie run. Lease-Springer and Evans added key triples during the stretch as DelVal built its largest lead of the afternoon, 61-49. King's made one last push with a 13-5 run in the closing minutes to trim the deficit to four, but the Aggies' fourth-quarter outburst proved to be the difference in the 66-62 win.
Evans led all scorers with 22 points, while Lease-Springer and Wright also reached double figures. Lease-Springer added nine rebounds and three steals to pace DelVal on the glass and defensively.
The Aggies return to action Tuesday, Feb. 17 on the road at Misericordia with tip-off set for 7 p.m.