Basketball

Delaware Valley 68, Lycoming College 60
Aggies To Travel To DeSales For Freedom Conference Semifinals On Wednesday

WILLIAMSPORT (PA) - The Delaware Valley College women's basketball team went on a 15-0 run in the final 5:23 to post a 68-60 victory at Lycoming College and seal the third seed in the upcoming Freedom Conference playoffs.

With the win, the Aggies ended the regular season with a 17-8 overall record and a 9-5 mark in conference play. They finish tied for second in the conference standings with DeSales University, but the Lady Bulldogs get the nod for the first round home playoff game thanks to a series sweep of Delaware Valley.

As a result, the Aggies will travel to DeSales University on Wednesday, February 22 (7:00 p.m.) for the Freedom Conference semifinals. The winner will advance to the conference championship game on Saturday, February 25 (site and time to be determined) against the winner of the #1 University of Scranton-#4 King's College match-up. The Freedom Conference tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Delaware Valley, which had never won at Lycoming in head coach Laura Hogan's previous nine trips to Williamsport, trailed 60-53 with 5:23 remaining as Amy Kile hit a jumper for the Lady Warriors (5-19, 1-13 Freedom). However, it was all Aggies from that point on as they scored the game's final 15 points while holding Lycoming to 0-for-9 shooting and forcing three turnovers.

Juli McGowan began the run just 16 seconds after Kile's basket as the senior drilled a 3-pointer. Rachel Joyce followed a minute later with a pair of free throws and Moira Donohue tied the game at 60-60 with a jumper with 2:17 to go.

Following a Lycoming turnover, the Aggies got three chances on their next offensive possession and finally took the lead for good with 1:18 remaining as center Brooke Dittmar hit a short range jumper. Lycoming missed a 3-pointer and McGowan hit a layup while being fouled for Delaware Valley. McGowan missed the free throw, but the Lady Warriors turned the ball over off the rebound as Joyce had a steal and a layup for a 66-60 advantage with 29 ticks left. Kate McCarthy and Joyce each hit a free throw down the stretch for the eight-point final.

The first half featured five ties before a late Aggie run gave the visitors a 35-29 advantage at the break. However, Lycoming scored the first six points of the second stanza to the contest. It was still tied at 37-37 before the Lady Warriors went on a 10-4 run to build a six-point lead with 11:29 remaining.

Delaware Valley fought back to tie the game and it was still deadlocked 49-49 with 8:48 to go before Lycoming scored nine straight - four by Danielle Kern, for its largest lead of the game, 58-49 with 6:18 remaining. The Aggies notched a pair of baskets, but Lycoming countered with Kile's jumper at the 5:23 mark. That set the stage for the Delaware Valley comeback and the victory.

Joyce finished with a double-double as she recorded 15 points and 14 rebounds as Delaware Valley held a 57-36 advantage on the boards, including 26 at the offensive end. Donohue contributed 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds while McGowan hit double digits with 14 points. McCarthy added eight points while Dittmar had six points and 13 boards in the win.

Kile paced Lycoming with 17 points while Andrea Cooper and Michelle Wisla added 13 and 10 points respectively in the loss. Cooper also added a team-best seven rebounds.