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SVU Women Wrap Up Season With 22-7 Record
In a season filled with remarkable achievements, the Southern Virginia University women’s basketball team wrapped up its campaign with a fiercely competitive and closely contested game against No. 15 DeSales University, ultimately losing 53-42 in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament on Friday night in Center Valley, Pa.
The Knights (22-7) showcased their resilience from the very start, launching into the game with an explosive first quarter. Led by the dynamic duo of Addison Newman and Abigail Snyder, SVU initiated an impressive 6-0 run. The momentum didn’t stop there. Snyder, with the help of Foster, led the charge in another 6-0 run, pushing the Knights to an early 12-3 lead. Despite a slowdown in scoring towards the end of the quarter, with both teams adding only two points each in the final minutes, SVU maintained a dominant presence, ending the quarter with a strong 14-6 lead, thanks to their outstanding performance in the paint.
DeSales quickly closed the gap in the second quarter, sinking two 3-pointers to trim the Knights’ lead to just two. Attempting to maintain their lead, the Knights’ offense worked hard to keep pace with the Bulldogs. However, DeSales managed to draw fouls, earning trips to the free-throw line, and minimized their turnovers, which allowed them to tie the game at 20-all. The Bulldogs maintained relentless pressure throughout the quarter with a continuous press, disrupting the Knights’ offensive execution. Despite these challenges, SVU managed to regain a slender lead before halftime, thanks to a pull-up jumper from Aysia Foster, followed by a 3-pointer from Maria Savvun, ending the half with a 25-23 advantage.
In the first half, SVU capitalized on their scoring inside the paint, shooting 42.9 percent from the field compared to DeSales’s 22.6 percent, but the Knights struggled from beyond the arc, shooting only 12.5 percent compared to the Bulldogs’ 42.8 percent. Snyder, Foster, and Newman led the team with six points each.
As the third quarter commenced, both teams exchanged baskets, but the Knights faced a setback when Kemper picked up a fourth foul, which provided DeSales with additional offensive opportunities. This allowed the Bulldogs to tie the game at 27-27. The Knights briefly fell behind but managed to reclaim the lead with a jumper from Snyder, pushing the score to 34-33. Following this, both teams experienced a scoring drought, with neither side managing a basket until Taylor Miyasaki broke the silence with a layup after a tense four minutes of play, ending the quarter with SVU ahead 36-35.
The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter with a burst of energy, going on a 7-0 run, fueled by back-to-back turnovers from the Knights. Whenever SVU attempted to regain momentum on offense, they were thwarted by DeSales, who tallied eight blocks thanks to back-to-back rejections. The Knights finally managed to put points on the board with 4:38 remaining, courtesy of a layup from Kempler. However, they struggled to capitalize on these much-needed points and were outscored in the closing stretch, with DeSales securing the victory by sinking six free throws towards the end of the game.
Snyder led the Knights with 12 points, while Newman closely followed with nine points and contributed a team-high nine rebounds. SVU senior guard Emma Camden, a 2019 Parry McCluer High School graduate, scored four points, grabbed five rebounds, and had one assist in the final game of her college career.
Mikaela Reese scored 17 points to lead four DeSales players scoring in double figures. Megan Bealer added 11 points for the Bulldogs, and Lindsey Welsh and Mikaili Donmoyer each chipped in 10.
SVU encountered persistent foul trouble throughout the game, accumulating 25 personal fouls compared to just 12 for the Bulldogs. They also faced challenges from the free throw line, shooting only 20 percent (2 out of 10), in stark contrast to DeSales’s 71.4 percent (15-of-21) efficiency.
DeSales would end the season at 26-3 with a 93-69 loss to topranked New York University (27-0) in the second round on Saturday night.
Despite their struggles against DeSales, the Knights conclude a remarkable season, during which they won their USA South Athletic Conference championship title after going 17-1 in the conference. The Knights look forward to continued growth with their promising young core that includes freshman forward Anna Claytor, a 2023 PM graduate. The NCAA tournament appearance was the Knights’ second in three years, both times under fifth-year head coach Lynette Schroeder. Two years ago, after winning their first conference title, the Knights defeated Shenandoah University in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling to Transylvania University in the second round.
Knights earning USA South Athletic Conference all-conference honors this year were Snyder (first team), Foster (second team), Kempler (honorable mention) and Camden (All-Sportsmanship).
