HUNTINGDON (PA) – Delaware Valley University used a 21-14 fourth quarter to erase a three-point deficit and down Gwynedd Mercy University, 58-54, in the opening round of the Juniata College Holiday Classic.
The win improved the Aggies to 3-7 overall and moved them into the championship where they will face the host Eagles on Saturday, December 30 at 2 p.m. Juniata remained perfect at 10-0 with a 54-49 victory over St. Lawrence in the other opening-round match-up.
DelVal trailed the Griffins (5-4), 40-37, heading into the final 10 minutes of the contest. However, the Aggies opened the quarter with seven straight points as Amber Grohowski sank two from the foul line, Danielle Skedzielewski hit a jumper and Ashley Smink drilled a 3-pointer. It was the first and only made trey in the game for DelVal, but it came with 6:16 to go and it gave the squad a 44-40 advantage.
Gwynedd Mercy responded with eight of the next 11 points to regain the lead at 48-47 with 3:05 remaining. That was the Griffins' last advantage as Smink came back 34 seconds later and scored on a layup. Neither team scored for nearly two minutes before Monika Smallwood connected to give the Aggies a three-point lead. Gwynedd Mercy then turned the ball over and Smink hit a pair of free throws with 30 ticks to go for a 53-48 score.
Susan Bossler hit a trey a few seconds later for the Griffins and Smink countered with one free throw for a three-point game. Gwynedd Mercy missed on a game-tying 3-pointer and Skedzielewski was fouled. She hit both attempts to make it a two-possession game. The Griffins' Julianna Hoisington made things interesting with a shot from downtown with nine seconds left, but Skedzielewski sealed the win for DelVal with two free throws a tick later.
The Aggies, led by Smallwood's six points, jumped out to an 18-10 advantage after one quarter of play. Gwynedd Mercy pulled to within four, 26-22, at the break and took the lead with an 18-11 run in the third. But the Aggies had the answer in the fourth for the win.
Both teams struggled from the field coming off long breaks as they each shot under 33 percent from the field. The difference was the foul line as the Aggies were 19-for-36, including a 10-for-12 effort in the fourth quarter while the Griffins did not go to the line in the fourth and were 11-for-17 for the game.
Smink finished with a game-high 21 points while Skedzielewski had 11 points and six rebounds. Smallwood had a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards while Growhowski added seven points and nine rebounds.
Sydney Thompson paced Gwynedd Mercy with four treys and 16 points. Hoisington added 11 points in the loss.