Delaware Valley 77, Moravian 72

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GWYNEDD VALLEY (PA) – Freshman Sarah Innerst scored 24 points while Brittany Battinieri and Emily Soper netted 18 points apiece as Delaware Valley College posted a 77-72 victory over NCAA playoff qualifier Moravian College in the opening round of the 2010 Residence Inn by Mariott/Gwynedd-Mercy College Tip-Off Tournament.

The Aggies improved to 2-0 on the season and will play the host Griffins (a 58-52 winner over Steveson University) in the tournament's championship at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. They did so by defeating a Greyhound team (0-3) that reached the Division III postseason in each of the last two seasons.

Delaware Valley trailed by 10 on two occasions in the first half and was still down nine, 33-24, with 4:37 remaining in the opening stanza. The Aggies then scored the final 17 points of half – seven by Innerst, six by Soper and four by Jackie Shunkwiler – to take a 41-33 advantage into the intermission.

Moravian battled back and pulled to within on, 62-61, on an Amanda Kreuder 3-pointer with 5:01 left on the clock. Delaware Valley responded with eight straight, including back-to-back bombs by Battinieri, to up the lead to nine with 2:46 to go.

Moravain made it a one-possession game at 72-69 and the Aggies' Sarah Delcasale missed the front end of a one-in-one with 33 ticks left. However, teammate Liz Hover snagged the rebound to keep possession and Innerst was eventually fouled with 17 seconds remaining. The rookie calmly hit both free throws and added another seven seconds later for a 75-69 score. Alyssa Hann nailed a trey for the Greyhounds and Battinieri was fouled with three seconds to go. She hit both attempts to ice the game.

Innerst was 8-for-12 from the field, including a 3-for-5 effort from 3-point land. She also added nine rebounds while playing the full 40 minutes. Battinieri hit four treys in the game and finished with five assists while Soper was perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line and added nine rebounds and four blocks. Shunkwiler also hit double digits with 11 points in the win.

Amy Heffner notched 22 points and 10 rebounds for Moravian. Alexander Blair had 13 points and nine boards while Hann and Kreuder finished with 11 points apiece.