Center Valley, PA (February 6, 2016) – The DeSales University women's basketball team held Delaware Valley University to just 25.8 percent shooting en route to a 62-49 win over the Aggies in MAC Freedom action on Saturday afternoon in Billera Hall.
 
The Bulldogs (16-5, 9-1 MAC Freedom) were led by freshman Morgan Birmelin who nearly recorded a triple-double with nine points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists in the win.  Junior Morgan McCollian finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season, while senior Jen Napolitano and freshman Katie Miller each added 10 points in the win.  Sophomore Kaitlin Kelly totaled nine points and seven rebounds.
 
Eireann Anastasi led the Aggies (10-11, 6-4 MAC Freedom) with a game-high 22 points and six rebounds, while senior Kelsey Kilpatrick finished with 13 points to round out the double digit scorers for Delaware Valley.
 
After the Bulldogs hit two of their first three shots for the game they went cold from the field missing their next 16 shots but the defense kept them in the game trailing by just six points after one quarter and by eight points when Napolitano ended the streak with a three at the 6:17 mark of the second quarter.
 
DSU still trailed by six (20-14) with 4:19 left in the opening half but used a 9-0 run over the final 4:19 to take a 23-20 lead into the locker rooms.  McCollian started the run with four points and sophomore Angelica Bertola gave DeSales great minutes off the bench, hitting a three during the half-ending spurt.
 
DeSales shot the ball much better in the second-half, hitting 38.7 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes.  The Bulldogs slowly extended their lead to 10 points (39-29) on a three from junior Megan Baird and after DVU pulled to within six points at the 6:52 mark of the fourth quarter, DSU used a 9-2 run over the next 3:18 to take a 13-point lead (54-41) on a three from Kelly and never looked back from there.
 
The Bulldogs had a big advantage on glass out-rebounding the Aggies, 56-41, leading to an 18-2 advantage in second chance points.  Both team did a nice job of protecting the ball, committing just 11 turnovers each for the game.

The win does clinch a spot in the MAC Freedom Tournament for the Bulldogs with playoff seeding still yet to be determined with four games left in the MAC Freedom regular season.  It marks the 19th consecutive year DSU has qualified for the MAC Freedom postseason, never missing the post-season tournament since joining the conference for the 1997-98 season.
 
Bertola earns A.B.E. Doors and Windows Player of the Game honors providing eight strong minutes off the bench in the second quarter and hitting a big three-pointer during the half ending run.
 
The Bulldogs are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Wilkes University for a MAC Freedom game beginning at 6:00 pm.