ST. DAVIDS, Pa.- Eastern University Women's Basketball had a milestone day in their season finale as they topped Delaware Valley 82-64 and Bekah Roland reached 1000 career points early in the game. With the win, the Eagles (16-9, 8-6 Freedom) complete a turnaround season and establish a new benchmark for winning percentage in a season. The Eagles finish above .500 in league play for the first time since they finished 9-7 in the PAC South in the '03-'04 season.

Roland entered the afternoon just three points short of the 1000 mark, and she cut into that almost instantly as Lori Wileczek grabbed the opening tap and hit the junior forward in stride for a lay-in to open the game. The Aggies grabbed an 11-7 lead behind a pair of three pointers for Brittany Battinieri before Roland Topped the 1000 mark with a classy up and under move for a three-point play.

"I tried not to dwell on it before the game," said Roland,  "but people were getting me excited, whispering '997' during warm-ups and stuff. I wanted to focus on going out with a win though. It's nice to have it over with because I don't have to worry about it and I can just play my senior year. I wanted to get it with this group of girls too. I mean, someone is passing me the ball. It's just as much about them as it is about me."

Coach Davis called a timeout and the crowd recognized the accomplishment with a round of applause. The Eagles then, got to work as the hoop sparked an 11-2 run to put the home side up 18-13 half way through the period. 

Battinieri, however, led the charge to keep her side in the game with two more quick three-pointers. The Delaware Valley senior finished her career with a game-high 29 points on 7-14 three pointers. She finishes her career with an impressive 200 career threes. 

The Eagles closed out the half with a 19-9 stretch to grab control of the contest. Roland had 10 points at the half and fellow junior Shante Jones led all scorers at the break with 16 points on just nine shots. Jones quietly reached a milestone in the first half as she reached 100 steals for the year. She finished the day with 25 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and four steals.

Eastern used transition offense and three-pointers from Roland and Lincoln to build a 20 point lead with 13 minutes to play. The lead would grow to 28 before Roland and Jones went to the bench for the final six minutes. Katie Lincoln found the range for 16 second half points on 3-4 three pointers and 5-6 free throws. She and Roland each finished with 20 points.

"We return all of our players next year so we aren't looking at this as the end of our season." Said Davis after the game, "It's simply a pause, a break for us to continue to work on the many things we need to improve. I don't want to take away from our growth. These girls changed the culture of women's basketball at this school and I think that transition happened faster than I could have dreamed. I am proud of them. We will reflect and be grateful, but we also will go right back to working hard."

Though they finished out of the playoffs, this year's Eagles definitely made an impression with an 11-1 home record and a 5-2 record in the second half of the league season. One year after winning just a single game, they beat every team in the league. 

"I didn't want to leave the court after the game today." Davis said, "I definitely wasn't ready for our season to end." With the excitement of the year, the Eagles have given everyone around the program much to look forward to for years to come.

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