BOX SCORE

Center Valley, PA (February 11, 2010) – Senior Kelly Magrann (Sinking Spring, PA/Holy Name) netted a career-high 23 points leading the DeSales University women's basketball team past Misericordia University, 64-56, and into sole possession of second place in the Freedom Conference standings with three games left to play in the regular season on Thursday evening in Billera Hall.

The Bulldogs have now won seven straight games and improve to 13-9 overall and 8-3 in the Freedom Conference, while the Cougars fall to 13-9 overall and 7-4 in the Freedom standings. The Bulldogs win coupled with Delaware Valley's loss at King's College on Thursday night means the Bulldogs are alone in second place entering Saturday's game at King's College. King's, Delaware Valley, and Misericordia are now all tied up in third place with only the top four teams making the Freedom Conference playoffs.

The Bulldogs were very sluggish in the first half, falling behind by 11 points (17-6) at the start of the game and trailed by as many as 13 points in the opening half. A three-pointer from Magrann cut the lead to 10 points and a quick 6-0 run that included a Magrann jumper, a jumper from freshman Colleen Gavin (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown), and two free throws from senior Kaila Wiand (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) reduced the deficit to just six points at the 4:24 mark.

Misericordia answered with six quick points of their own on three-pointers from Christine Marks and Jesse Robinson but a three-point play from Gavin and a put-back lay-up from Wiand to end the half pulled DSU within seven (33-26) at the break. DSU shot just 33.3 percent and was 1-for-11 from downtown, while the Cougars went 5-of-8 from three-point land and shot 47.8 percent from the field.

The second half was all Bulldogs.

An 11-2 run to open the half immediately gave DSU the lead, 37-35, as Magrann scored five points including a three-pointer. The game went back-and-forth for much of the next 10 minutes before an 8-0 run extended a 49-46 DSU advantage into a 57-46 lead with Magrann once again finishing off the spurt with a three-pointer.

Misericordia refused to pack it in however scoring the next six points to get within five points but a clutch baseline jumper from junior Lori Lidlow (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) ended the Cougar rally and the Bulldogs canned 5-of-8 charity tosses over the final 75 seconds to post the win.

Magrann did not miss a two-point shot going 9-for-17 from the field, a perfect 6-for-6 from inside the arc. Gavin finished with 15 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, while Lidlow added eight points and swiped six steals. Sophomore Hannah Smith (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) continued her terrific point guard play with seven points, seven assists, and just two turnovers in the win.

Marks led all scorers with 29 points and added 10 rebounds to record the double-double. Robinson added 13 points as the duo combined to score 42 of the Cougar 56 points.

The Bulldogs return to the road with another very important Freedom Conference game in its quest to earn a Freedom Conference playoff spot at King's College on Saturday beginning at 1:00 pm.