Women's Basketball

SCOTTY WOOD TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUND
Delaware Valley College 88, Cortland State University 71

ALLENTOWN (PA) - The backcourt tandem of juniors Moira Donohue and Shannon O'Neill scored 25 points apiece to lead Delaware Valley College to an 88-71 victory over 2006 NCAA playoff qualifier Cortland State in the opening round of the Scotty Wood Tournament held at Muhlenberg College.

With the win, the Aggies advanced to the tournament's championship game at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 18 against Muhlenberg. To do so, they had to knock off a Red Dragons team that was coming off a 23-5 season and reached the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Donohue and O'Neill led the way as each played all 40 minutes of the contest. Donohue hit 10 of 19 shots from the field (3-for-7 from 3-point land) and also added six assists, six steals, four rebounds and two blocks. Meanwhile, O'Neill set a tournament record by hitting six, 3-pointers (eight attempts) and finished the game 9-for-12 from the field. She also contributed five assists and five rebounds.

Delaware Valley jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first four minutes of the contest with Donohue and O'Neill combining for 11 points. Cortland State fought back and tied it on two occasions, but the Aggies regained the lead and built a 40-35 advantage with 2:26 to go in the first half.

However, the Red Dragons answered with 10 straight points, including a pair of treys by Maggie Byrne, and took a 45-40 advantage into the intermission.

In the second half, the teams traded the lead in the early going and Cortland State held a 58-57 lead with 14:24 to go. Delaware Valley responded with a 12-0 run to take a lead that it would never relinquish, 67-58, with 10:09 remaining. Five different players scored baskets in the spurt.

The lead went up to 11 but Cortland State's Jessica Laing hit a 3-pointer with 4:22 remaining to make it a 77-69 ballgame. However, the Aggies put the contest away with nine straight, including four by Donohue.

Freshman Kim Vennera had a big debut for Delaware Valley as she notched 16 points, a team-high nine rebounds and five assists. Senior Rachel Joyce also hit double figures with 10 points while also adding five boards and four assists.

Laing finished with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Red Dragons. Sarah Cavanaugh had 15 points and seven boards while Canale added 14 points and seven rebounds.