DOYLESTOWN, Pa.-Eastern University Women's Basketball used a 26-8 stretch early in the second half to build a 20 point lead, and they held on for an 85-73 win at Delaware Valley College. Eastern (16-5, 7-3 Freedom) connected on over 58 percent of their shots from the field in the second half.
Both teams looked to push the ball early. Eastern grabbed the lead for good when Bekah Roland scored the middle three baskets in a 10-0 run over only 82 seconds of game time. Roland finished the afternoon with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
The first half, however, belonged to Meghan Nowak. The stand-out freshman scored 17 of her game-high 27 before the break, and she single-handedly put the Aggies in the bonus. Delaware Valley (12-9, 3-7 Freedom) closed the gap to 42-39 as Emily Soper converted an array of inside and mid-range shots for 15 points, and Brittany Battinieri had a pair of 3-pointers and 11 points.
Roland had and Kaitlyn Dougherty each chipped in nine before the break. Nowak and Roland each grabbed seven rebounds as the Eagles controlled the glass by a 27-18 margin.
Katie Lincoln opened the second frame with a 3-pointer, but the Aggies scored five straight on a Battinieri triple and inside hoop from Shannon Barlow to cut the Eastern lead to 45-44.
Roland answered with a post-move hoop and Kaleigh Boreman connected from distance to start the decisive run of the game. While the Eastern offense was clicking on all cylinders, their defense held the Aggies without a field goal for the decisive seven minute stretch of the contest.
The Eagles showed good balance on the run and even pulled away with Nowak grabbing rest on the bench. Lincoln capped the run with her second 3-pointer of the game. Lincoln scored ten of her 15 points in the second half.
The Aggies made a run late as Battinieri scored 7 of her 25 points in the final three minutes. Delaware Valley was unable to cut the lead to less than eight, and the Eagles hit free throws and made a pair of defensive stops down the stretch to preserve the win.
Nowak added 13 rebounds, three blocks, and two assists to record the 10th double double of her rookie campaign. Roland picked up her 27th career double-double and third in the past four games.
"I was really pleased with the way we came out in the second [half]," Eastern Head Coach Nate Davis noted, "We hit some big shots and moved the ball well." It was good to see Kaleigh [Boreman] and Doc [Kaitlin Dougherty] step up on offense." Dougherty finished with a career-best 14 points and four assists in 23 minutes. Boreman was 3-for-4 from the floor.
The Eagles return to action at Misericordia University on Wednesday. Eastern edged the Cougars by a single point in the earlier meeting this year. With four games remaining in the league schedule, Eastern is within one win of assuring a berth in the post-season for the first time since 2005. The Eagles are in a 3-way tie for second place with Misericordia and DeSales.
