Women's Basketball

Delaware Valley 60, University of Scranton 54
Aggies Upset The Seventh-Ranked Team In Division III

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - Sophomore forward/center Bridget Golden notched 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Delaware Valley College women's basketball team to a 60-54 upset over No. 7 University of Scranton in a Freedom Conference game.

The win improved Delaware Valley to 8-11 overall and 3-6 in the conference while the Lady Royals saw a five-game winning streak come to an end as the defending conference champions fell to 18-2, 7-2.

Golden, who was named the Freedom Conference Player of the Week on Monday, hit just four of 10 shots from the field but was clutch at the foul line with a 9-for-10 showing. Nine of her 10 rebounds came on the defensive end and she also finished with three assists in 26 minutes of action.

The Aggies got the job done on the defensive end, holding Scranton to a season-low 22.2 percent shooting from the field. The Lady Royals managed to hit just five of 32 shots (15.6 percent) from the field in the second half and finished with just five assists on 14 field goals.

Despite the poor shooting, Scranton trailed by just one, 51-50, as AnneMarie Russo hit a pair of free throws with 2:23 remaining. However, the Aggies outscored the Lady Royals, 9-4, down the stretch with all of their points coming at the foul line. Amber Smolinsky was 4-for-6 from the line while Golden and Kate McCarthy were each 2-for-2. Jackie Hartzell also hit a foul shot in the closing seconds.

Delaware Valley opened the contest with a quick 7-0 lead on five points by Golden and a Shannon McCormick lay-up. Scranton came back with nine straight to take the lead, but the Aggies countered with a 10-0 run and they eventually took a 30-27 lead into the intermission.

The Lady Royals opened the second half with seven straight points, including five by Tara Gemmel, to take a 34-40 lead. The game see-sawed back and forth with six lead changes and four ties and Scranton still held a 42-41 advantage with 7:20 to go as Maura Kane hit four straight free throws.

However, Delaware Valley took the lead for good with an 8-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by freshman Juli McGowan.

Hartzell joined Golden in double figures for the Aggies as the sophomore finished with 10 points, including a tri of 3-pointers in the first half. McGowan had eight points while Smolinsky and Jennifer McCarthy finished with seven points apiece.

Kate Pierangeli paced Scranton with 19 points and seven steals. Gemmel added nine points and Kane had eight points off the bench.