DOYLESTOWN (PA) – DeSales University built a 17-point, second-half lead and then survived a frantic comeback attempt by host Delaware Valley College in a 77-74, Freedom Conference victory.
The two teams entered the day tied for third place and the Bulldogs held onto that spot as they improved to 12-9 overall and 6-4 in the Freedom. The loss dropped the Aggies into a fourth-place tie with King's College at 5-5 in league action (10-11 overall). Four games remain in the regular season.
Less than six minutes into the game, Brenna Coll hit a layup to put the Aggies ahead, 10-8. However, that was the last lead Delaware Valley saw on the afternoon as an Alex Suk free throw and a long three from Megan Baird gave DeSales the lead that they did not relinquish.
Later in the half, the Bulldogs used a 14-3 run, including the five seven from Baird, to give them a 32-20 lead with 3:43 to play. They doubled the Aggies on the boards (26-13) in the stanza, leading to 14, second-chance points and a 38-28 halftime lead.
After a Kaitlin Kelly trey put DeSales ahead 44-30 in the second half, Delaware Valley ripped off an 8-3 run, led by four points from Brenna Coll, to cut the deficit to nine. The Bulldogs responded with an 11-3 stretch of their own to open up the largest margin of the game at 58-41 with 6:26 remaining in regulation.
The teams traded a pair of free throws before the Aggies made a comeback attempt in the fashion of a 15-4 run to pull within six. Coll and Eireann Anastasi combined for 12 of the 15 points and Delaware Valley was still alive at 64-58 with 1:16 to play.
The Aggies then began to press and foul and trailed by eight with 34 seconds on the clock after Nikki Callahan missed the second of two free throws for DeSales. On the ensuing possession, Delaware Valley rushed down the court and Brittany Wood hit a long three-ball to make it a five point contest at 69-64 with 29 seconds remaining. Once again, Callahan made one of two from the line but a Kelsey Kilpatrick 3-point attempt was off the mark for the Aggies and the Bulldogs held on for the 71-64 road win.
Coll led Delaware Valley with 23 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. In the process, the senior moved into sixth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,347 points. Anastasi managed 12 points and three assists while Wood had 11 point. As a team the Aggies shot 35 percent from the field on 21-of-60 shooting and went just 7-for-25 (28%) from beyond the arc.
Baird put up 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and Kelly Anthony registered 10 points and eight boards for DeSales. The Bulldogs were 20-for-52 (38.5%) from the field and 7-for-17 (41.2%) from 3-point land. They held a 46-35 advantage on the boards, including 15 offensive rebounds.