DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Delaware Valley University rallied from an eight-point, second-half deficit as the Aggies picked up their first win of the season by knocking off previously undefeated Goucher College, 70-67, in Monday's non-conference game.
DelVal improved to 1-4 on the season and will go into Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom action with some momentum as the Aggies host King's College on Wednesday, December 2. The loss dropped the Gophers to 1-4 on the season.
Goucher scored the first two points of the third quarter to build a 30-22 lead. The teams then traded baskets before DelVal tied it up thanks to an 8-0 run that included 3-pointers from Kelsey Kilpatrick and Eireann Anastasi. Briana Bull followed with a trey for the Gophers, but the Aggies responded with a 12-2 run that turned a three-point deficit into a 44-37 advantage with 2:13 left in the quarter. Anastasi and Kilpatrick ended the spurt with back-to-back baskets from beyond the arc.
Goucher cut its deficit to three at the end of the quarter and a jumper by Kristi Kozlowski 50 seconds into the fourth made it a 45-44 contest. DelVal built the lead back up to eight on three occasions, the last coming when Kilpatrick hit two free throws with 1:22 remaining for a 63-55 score.
The lead was six heading into the final minute when the Gophers used an 8-1 run to trail by just one, 68-67, with 12 ticks to go. Kilpatrick was fouled a second later and the senior, who missed the previous three games with an injury, calmly hit both foul shots for a three-point lead. Bull attempted a long 3-pointer to tie the game, but was off the mark. Monique Welch grabbed the board and went for the quick layup, but DelVal's Sam Foy was there for her fifth block of the game. Another layup was off the mark at the buzzer and the Aggies had the 70-67 win.
Goucher led by nine, 16-7, after the first quarter and held a 28-22 advantage at the break. DelVal had open looks in the first half, but was just 1-for-17 from 3-point land. However, the Aggies found their shooting touch in the second half, connecting on six treys. They also had 23 offensive rebounds with 14 coming in the final 20 minutes. That led to 21, second-chance points including 12 in the second half.
Kilpatrick finished with four 3-pointers and a team-high 18 points. Freshman Dahlia Wilson came off the bench and sparked DelVal with 6-for-10 shooting from the field and a 4-for-5 effort from the foul line for a season-high 16 points. She also added six rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes of action. Anastasi notched 16 points, five assists and four steals while Foy hit double digits with 10 points. Freshmen Brianna Rivello and Danielle Skedzielewski had 15 and 12 rebounds respectively with eight of Rivello's boards coming on the offensive end.
Bull was outstanding in the loss and she scored a game-high 30 points while adding four rebounds and three steals. Joyce Woolen added 11 points while Kozlowski had 10 points and 10 rebounds.