Women's Basketball

Delaware Valley College 84, Drew University 81 (OT)

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - In a game with the lead for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Freedom Conference on the line, Delaware Valley placed four players in double figures and outlasted visiting Drew University in overtime, 84-81.

The win improved the Aggies to 10-11 overall and 6-5 in conference play with just three games remaining. They now hold a one-game advantage over the Rangers (10-12, 5-6) and also have the tiebreaker edge thanks to a sweep of the two-game, season series. Any combination of two Delaware Valley wins or Drew losses will put the Aggies in the Freedom playoffs for the second straight year and the sixth in the last seven years.

The Aggies do have the tougher schedule as they travel to first-place Scranton on Saturday and third-place DeSales next Tuesday before hosting Lycoming (tied for last) next Saturday. Meanwhile Drew hosts second-place King's on Saturday and archrival FDU-Florham (sixth) next Tuesday before traveling to Wilkes (tied for last) next Saturday.

Drew rallied from a 17-point, second-half deficit and forced the extra session as Melissa Kraft hit a pair of free throws to make it 71-71 with 6.8 seconds remaining. Shannon O'Neill then nearly won the game for Delaware Valley at the buzzer, but her running jumper at the top of the key rolled off the rim.

After the Aggies opened the overtime with a Kim Vennera basket, Drew's Courtney Cunnigham hit a drive and a 3-pointer to give the Rangers a 76-73 lead. Rachel Joyce followed with a pair of free throws for Delaware Valley but Allison Hartnett hit a basket for a 78-75 Ranger lead with 2:49 remaining.

However, the Aggies scored eight straight points to seemingly take control of the overtime. Joyce went to the foul line twice and converted 3-of-4 opportunities. Then Brooke Dittmar grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a layup while being fouled for an 80-78 advantage with 49 seconds to go. Dittmar missed the free throw, but Joyce grabbed the board and Kraft, the conference's leading scorer fouled out of the game when she made contact with Vennera with 32.5 ticks left.

Vennera hit one of two chances for a three-point lead. Cunningham was called for a walk with 24.6 seconds to go, Drew was forced to foul and they sent O'Neill to the line a second later. The junior, who missed an opportunity to seal the game at the foul line late in regulation, did not miss this time as she drained both attempts for an 83-78 lead.

However, Cunningham drilled a long trey, her sixth of the night, with nine seconds left to make it a two-point game. Vennera was fouled with two seconds to go and the freshman missed the first, but connected on the second free throw, giving the Rangers a chance to tie it. Allison Hartnett had an open look at a 3-pointer well beyond the arc, but it hit the front of the rim and Delaware Valley escaped with the win.

Drew opened the game by scoring the night's first seven points on a pair of free throws by Courtney Cunningham (18:53), a three-point play by Allison Hartnett (18:21) and two free throws from Maggie Marquis (17:19).

However the next nine minutes belonged to Delaware Valley as the Aggies went on a 28-5 run during that span for a 28-12 advantage with 8:42 remaining. Rachel Joyce notched nine points while Moira Donohue added seven points and four assists. Angela Mensch also aided the run as she came off the bench to drain a pair of 3-pointers.

Delaware Valley eventually took a 41-28 lead into the intermission and upped the advantage to 17, 45-28, with 18:45 remaining. Drew was still down by 16, when it scored 12 straight to trail 54-40 with 12:20 remaining. The Aggies scored four in a row but Cunningham answered with seven points of her own to pull the Rangers to within one, 58-57, with 8:43 to go.

Drew later took its first lead since 9-8 when Kraft connected from the field with 6:22 to go. The teams went back and forth from there until Delaware Valley finally pulled it out in overtime.

Joyce paced the Aggies with 24 points and, in the process, moved into sixth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,199 points. She also added eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks while playing the full 45 minutes.

Dittmar had 18 points and 11 rebounds while Moira Donohue added 18 points and six assists. O'Neill finished with 12 points and eight assists.

Cunningham was spectacular in defeat as she went the full 45 minutes and finished with 39 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. She hit 14 of 23 shots from the field (6-for-9 from 3-point land) and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line. Kraft had 18 points before fouling out while Hartnett finished with 12 points.