The Misericordia University women's basketball team used a run of big second-half three-pointers to defeat Delaware Valley 56-48 and improve to 3-0 in Freedom Conference play.

Sophomores Christine Marks (14 points, 14 rebounds, five steals) and Jesse Robinson (11 points, 11 rebounds, three steals) submitted impressive all-around efforts for the Cougars. MU had four scorers in double-figures, as freshman Tyann McDaniel had 11 second-half points and Courtney Sykes added 10, also all in the second period.

The Cougars survived a stretch of 13:39 without a field goal and were down 28-22 early in the second half when freshman Caitlin Sweeney broke the slump with a jumper and followed that with a three-pointer to pull MU within five.

McDaniel then caught fire from outside, draining two consecutive treys and adding a jumper that put Misericordia back in the lead with nine and a half minutes to play.

With the teams tied at 40, McDaniel hit another three-pointer before a Sykes putback gave Misericordia a 46-42 lead with under two minutes left.

Senior Vanessa Wright then locked down the victory with a long two-pointer from the corner to put MU up 48-43 with just over a minute remaining. The Cougars made eight of 10 free throws down the stretch to eliminate any chance of a late Delaware Valley comeback.

In a low-scoring first half, the Cougars had jumped out to an early lead. Two steals by Robinson led to a pair of fast break fouls, putting the sophomore at the line. She made three of four shots, and Misericordia led 7-1.

Marks hit a pair of jumpers to stretch the lead to 13-5, and a three-pointer by Sweeney made the score 19-11 Cougars with 8:51 to play in the half. MU would not make another field goal for the rest of the half however, and Delaware Valley pulled to within three at the break.

Kim Vennera led the Aggies with 14 points and Emily Soper added 11 while Jenna Peoples had a team-high nine rebounds.

Misericordia is now 7-5 overall and will continue conference play on Wednesday when they host defending champion DeSales.

Del Val, 8-5 (1-2), will host King's, Wednesday at 6:00.