Women's Basketball

Delaware Valley College 64, King's College 62
Aggies Rally From 17 Down, Win In Final Seconds

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - Kim Vennera scored a career-high 33 points while Brooke Dittmar hit a layup with 3.7 seconds remaining as Delaware Valley College rallied from a 17-point, second-half deficit and downed preseason Freedom Conference favorite King's College, 64-62.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Aggies, who improved to 5-8 overall and 1-1 in the conference. The Lady Monarchs saw their record fall to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in the Freedom.

The game was tied at 62-62 after King's Jenna Palumbo hit one of two free throws with 12 seconds to go. Delaware Valley came downcourt and Moira Donohue dribbled to the right corner. Two defenders followed her, leaving Dittmar wide open underneath. Donohue found her and the senior center put in the easy layup for a 64-62 advantage. The Lady Monarchs got a decent look at the end, but Andrea Carroll's long 3-point attempt clanked off the side of the rim and the Aggies had the upset victory.

King's scored the first 11 points of the game, including a pair of treys by Palumbo, to take the early advantage. The Aggies pulled to within four at 21-17, but the Lady Monarchs closed the half with a 14-3 run and took a 35-20 lead into the intermission.

King's upped the lead to 17, 48-31, with 13:15 remaining as a pair of free throws by Kaitlyn Fiorino ended a 7-2 spurt. The Lady Monarchs still held a double digit lead at 53-43 with nine minutes to go before Delaware Valley scored 11 of the next 13 points to pull to within two, 55-54, with 5:19 showing on the clock.

The Aggies tied the game at 58-58 on a Dittmar layup with 3:30 remaining and then took the lead for the first time less than a minute later on a pair of Vennera free throws. King's scored the next three points on a pair of fouls shots by Sarah O'Doherty and one charity shot by Kendra for a 62-61 advantage with 1:11 remaining.

Vennera drove into the paint and hit a layup with 17 ticks to go to regain the lead for Delaware Valley. Palumbo then tied the contest with her late free throw, setting the stage for Donohue big pass and Dittmar's game-winning basket.

Vennera, who was coming off a career-high 24-point showing at DeSales on Wednesday, topped that performance as the sophomore guard hit 10 of 20 shots from the field (3-for-5 from 3-point land) and was 10-for-11 from the foul line. Her 33 points tied three others, including Donohue, for the ninth-highest, single-game scoring total in school history. She was one of only four Aggies to score in the contest.

Donohue finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while Dittmar had nine points and 14 boards. Brittany Battinieiri had the remaining two points and also added five assists while Jen McCarthy made seven steals on the defensive end.

Palumbo paced King's with 15 points while Andrea Hochstuhl added 12 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Kendra finished the afternoon with 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the loss.