DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Senior guard Brittany Battinieri notched 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and hit a key 3-pointer in the final minute to help lead Delaware Valley College to a 70-67, Freedom Conference victory over visiting Eastern University.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Aggies as they improved to 7-9 overall and 1-4 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Eagles saw their five-game winning streak snapped as they fell to 9-5 and 2-3.
Battinieri showed why she was a second-team, all-conference selection last year as 22 of her 27 points came in second half. She hit eight of 16 shots from the field, including a 5-for-11 showing from 3-point land and was 6-for-8 from the foul line. Battinieri became the 15th player in program history to over the 900-point plateau for a career (904) and also moved her past her head coach Laura Hogan (nee Rotz) for third place on the all-time list for 3-pointers with 177.
The teams were tied 32-32 at halftime before Delaware Valley came flying out in the second half and used an early 13-2 run to take a 50-39 advantage. Battinieri led the spurt with six points.
However, Eastern answered by scoring 15 of the next 16 points, including 12 straight at one point, for a 52-51 lead with 7:33 remaining. Katie Lincoln and Shante Jones notched five points apiece in that run.
The Eagles were still up by three as the clocked ticked under the six-minute mark. The Aggies then went to work as a free throw by Battinieri and two by Jackie Shunkwiler tied the contest. Battinieri hit a jumper to give Delaware Valley the lead and Sarah Innerst also hit a shot for a 60-56 advantage with 3:34 to go.
Eastern pulled to within three, 65-62 after a jumper by Bekah Roland with 1:21 remaining. The Aggies came down and ran time off the shot clock before Battinieri drained a trey for a 68-62 score with 53 seconds to go.
Roland had an old-fashioned 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to cut the Delaware Valley lead in half. Emily Soper was fouled 11 ticks later and the Aggie sophomore hit one of two free throws for a 69-65 advantage. Jones missed a 3-pointer, but grabbed her own rebound and laid one in for a two-point game with 16 seconds left.
Jones fouled out two second later as she sent Sarah Delcasale to free throw line. Delcasale drained the first but the Aggies were called for a line violation before the second attempt, giving the ball back to Eastern and a chance to send the game to overtime. Roland got a good look at a 3-pointer, but it clanked off the rim. A layup attempt by Lincoln also failed and the buzzer sounded, giving Delaware Valley the win.
In addition to Battinieri's heroics, Soper finished with a double-double as she had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Shunkwiler contributed 11 points and eight boards while Delcasale finished with 10 points and four assists.
Jones, a Division I transfer, recorded 26 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and six assists for Eastern. Roland finished with 17 points and a game-high 16 rebounds while Lincoln added 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.