Basketball

Delaware Valley 57, Penn State-Abington 36

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - The Delaware Valley College women's basketball team ended the first semester of play on a winning note as the Aggies defeated visiting Penn State-Abington, 57-36, in a non-conference game.

Delaware Valley heads into the holiday break with a 6-2 record and winners of two straight. The squad will return to action on Wednesday, January 4 (7:00 p.m.) when it travels to Eastern University. The Nittany Lions, who are in their first year of sponsoring four-year competition, fell to 6-4.

The Aggies, who were without the services of leading scorer and rebounder Rachel Joyce (illness), got off to a slow start as they hit just one of their first 14 shots and trailed 10-4 with 11:19 left in the first half.

However, Delaware Valley hit six of its next 10 shots from the field to key an 18-2 run and a 22-12 advantage with 4:15 to go before halftime. Moira Donohue had six points in the spurt while Juli McGowan added five.

Delaware Valley went on to take a 26-16 lead at the break and then scored 19 of the first 25 points in the second stanza for a 45-21 advantage with 10:29 remaining. McGowan led that run with eight points.

The Aggie defense was strong all evening as they held Penn State-Abington to just 21.7 percent shooting from the field and forced 32 turnovers, including 18 in the first half. McGowan finished with a game-high 15 points while Donohue added 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Shannon O'Neill tallied five points, 11 rebounds and seven steals while Brooke Dittmar and Jennifer McCarthy combined for 14 points and nine boards.

Christine Hennessey paced Penn State-Abington with 14 points and 23 rebounds. Shana Jordan also hit double figures with 11 points.