Women's Basketball

2006 TRIP SPORTS SURF CITY CLASSIC
Rensselaer Polytechnic University 68, Delaware Valley College 63

COSTA MESA (CA) - The Delaware Valley College women's basketball team suffered its second loss at the 2006 Trip Sports Surf City Classic as the Aggies dropped a 68-63 decision to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

The Aggies, who will travel back from California on New Year's Day, fell to 3-6 with Saturday's loss. They will return to action on Thursday, January 4 (7:00 p.m.) when they host Lebanon Valley College. The Red Hawks, out of Troy, New York, moved their record to 5-4.

RPI held a 40-32 advantage at halftime and increased the lead to as many as 14 on two occasions in the second stanza. However, Delaware Valley used a 16-2 run to tie the contest at 54-54 with 6:09 remaining. Brooke Dittmar led the spurt with six points.

The game was tied again at 58-58 with 3:52 remaining and the Aggies had a chance to take the lead but Rachel Joyce had a layup attempt blocked by Kristi Baranowski. RPI then scored eight of the game's next 10 points for a 66-60 advantage. Kim Vennera cut that in half with a 3-pointer with 15 seconds to go, but Elizabeth Barker sealed the deal for the Red Hawks as she connected on a fastbreak layup with just six ticks left on the clock.

Moira Donohue paced Delaware Valley with 17 points and she also added six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Dittmar followed with 15 points and a team-best eight rebounds while Vennera finished a solid trip with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Whitney Coleman's 18 points led RPI. Baranowski contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds, including six of the team's 27 boards on the offensive end. Barker just missed a double-double as she ended the game with 11 points and nine rebounds.