DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Ashley Smink had a game-high 21 points and Monika Smallwood led all players with 16 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Delaware Valley University women's basketball team dropped a 65-57 decision to visiting Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom foe King's College.
The Lady Monarchs improved to 12-8 overall and remains tied atop the conference with a 7-2 mark while the Aggies dropped to 7-13 and 4-5.
Smallwood grabbed 10 rebounds, six offensive, and four points in the first quarter and Smink added seven points to lead DelVal to a 15-12 advantage after one. Amber Grohowski also had four points in the stanza.
The Aggies started the second quarter on a 7-0 run, capped by a Danielle Skedzielewsi and-1 conversion to extend their lead to 22-12. However, King's came back with consecutive treys to cut the deficit to four with 4:24 left in the half. After Skedzielewski connected from beyond the arc, the Lady Monarchs scored eight of the final 12 points in the half and DelVal took a 29-26 lead into the locker room.
King's started the third quarter with a 15-5 run over the first 6:06 to open up the largest lead of the game at nine, 43-34. Olivia Hoffman and Mackenzie Yori highlighted the spurt with six points apiece. The lead grew to 10 when Lindsey Dippre hit a three in the waning seconds of the quarter to make it 50-40 going into the fourth.
The Aggies found themselves down by as many as 15 points with 8:32 left before going on a 15-6 run that spanned over five minutes of play. Lauren Moretti sparked the run with a trey and Skedzielewski contributed five points, including another and-1 play, as DelVal trailed 61-55 with just over three minutes left in regulation.
The Lady Monarchs scored four of the final six points the rest of the way to escape with the 65-57 road victory.
To go with her game-high 21 points, Smink added four assists and two steals while Smallwood added eight points to her career-high total in boards. Skedzielewski finished with 13 points and four rebounds and Grohowski totaled six points, five boards. Morgan Mitchell finished with six rebounds, four points, three assists and two steals. The Aggies shot 24-for-68 (35.3%) from the field and 5-of-18 (27.8%) from deep as a team.
King's was led by Yori's 17 points and four assists, including three treys. Alexis Steeber followed with 14 points to go with eight rebounds and three steals while Hoffman also had three steals and finished with a team-best nine rebound while netting 12 points. Rebecca Prociak scored 13 points and added eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. The Lady Monarchs shot 23-for-61 (37.7%) from the field and 6-for-21 (28.6%) from three-point land.
DelVal will take to the road for its next MAC Freedom game at Misericordia University on Saturday at 1 p.m.