Postgame Comments from Shalette Brown and Head Coach Marc Mitchell
MADISON, N.J. – Aided by a dominant rebounding effort, the Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham women's basketball team defeated Delaware Valley University 68-64 in overtime on Wednesday night to advance to its fourth straight MAC Freedom Championship Game.
The Devils (20-6) will take on top-seeded DeSales University (20-6) in the conference final this Saturday, February 27. The Bulldogs topped Manhattanville College with an overtime buzzer beater in Wednesday's other semifinal matchup.
For the third straight season, the Devils were forced to get past the Aggies (13-13) to reach the championship game and were again successful, however, tonight's game was the most highly contested of the three meetings.
Despite nearly doubling the Aggies in rebounding, 51-27, the Devils needed an overtime period to get past their familiar foes.
Leading the charge again for FDU-Florham was senior forward Shalette Brown, who continued her dominant senior campaign by posting her nation-leading 22nd double-double of the season. Brown scored 26 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, while adding three steals and two blocks. The 20-20 effort was Brown's fifth of the season and 13 of her game-high 21 boards came on the offensive glass.
Brown was helped on the glass by the strong work of junior center Rachel Groom. Groom, who has worked hard to get back this season after missing last year due to injury, put forth her best rebounding performance of the campaign on Wednesday, corralling 15 boards to go along with nine points in the win.
With her 10th point of the night, junior guard Alyssa McDonough became the program's 16th 1,000-point scorer. McDonough finished with 20 points and took care of business at the free throw line by converting 8-of-9 chances.
Eireann Anastasi led the Aggies in defeat with 22 points and six assists, while Sam Foy knocked down 7-of-10 shots for 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds on the night.
The Aggies started fast and jumped out to a 10-4 lead midway through the first quarter. Foy had the touch early, knocking down all three of her shots and paced Delaware Valley with six first quarter points. As a team, the Aggies finished the frame 8-of-12 from the field and led 17-8 heading into the second period.
After a 3-pointer by Brianna Rivello gave the Aggies a 20-13 advantage, the Devils put together an 11-2 run and nabbed their first lead of the night, 24-22, at the 2:57 mark. Sophomore guard Danielle Leguillou capped the run by swishing a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Anastasi scored the next five Aggies' points but a 3-pointer from Alyssa McDonough and a lay-in by Brown sent the Devils into the break with a 31-27 edge.
In the third quarter, Brown set the tone for the Devils by scoring 10 of the team's 15 points but another hot quarter kept the Aggies close and limited the home team's lead to one possession, 46-44. Delaware Valley knocked down 8-of-14 shots in the third but a 5-for-5 performance at the line allowed the Devils to weather the storm.
With 2:55 to play in regulation and the Devils in front by six, Danielle Skedzielewski hit a trey for Delaware Valley and after a McDonough layup, Foy made a 3-pointer, which made it a 62-60 game.
The Aggies earned the final possession of regulation and turned to their senior leader Anastasi, who delivered a game-tying layup with four seconds to go, which sent the game to overtime.
Trailing by one in the overtime period, Fernanda Reyes captured a huge offensive rebound for the Devils and promptly laid it in with 1:26 to go. The Devils defense locked in and forced three Delaware Valley misses to close out the victory.
The Devils will now gear up for a rematch of the 2014 MAC Freedom Championship game against DeSales University. The two teams split their matchups this season, which each team winning on the oppositions home floor.
