Valley Forge Women's Basketball went on the road to go up against Clarks Summit University this past Wednesday February 7th. Going into the matchup, Valley Forge was looking to play hard as they had recently come off a hard-fought loss against these same Clarks Summit Defenders back on Wednesday January 17th, with that game finishing 43-50. We were able to take this one from CSU, resulting in our first win of the season! With the final score being 55-52!

The first half saw Valley Forge go out to an early lead off of back-2-back layups by Olivia Rochkind and a well balanced offensive attack. CSU was quickly able to cut the deficit and eventually take their own lead at 10-17. A three pointer by Leah Lakits and a couple more layups by Olivia Rochkind brought UVF back to make it a 1 point deficit. A late layup and free throw brought Clarks Summit the lead to close out the 1st half, 21-23. The 2nd half brought the fireworks! CSU took a 5 point lead early, but multiple layups brought Valley Forge back in it. Two three pointers in a row by Kaionna Hanna tied the game at 35 before Clarks Summit drained a few free throws to take the 3 point lead to end the 3rd quarter. A foul by CSU on Lucy Mauerman saw two sunk free throws to start the 4th quarter. Getting fouled once again, Lucy Mauerman was able to go 1 for 2 at the line to tie the game at 38. Clarks Summit then went on a run of their own, scoring 7 unanswered. Another balanced attack by Valley Forge brought another tie at 47 before Lucy Mauerman was fouled once again. Sinking both free throws brought Valley Forge a 2 point lead at 49-47. It was short lived however as CSU was able to sink a couple free throws of their own with 1:30 left on the clock to take the 1 point lead. With 21 seconds left, Coach Taylor called a timeout and right out of the timeout Dominique Barnes was able to hit a clutch 3!! Taking the 54-52 lead! A missed jumper by Clarks Summit and a foul committed brought Dominique Barnes to the line. Where she sank 1 of 2 to put the icing on the cake. Bringing Valley Forge the 55-52 win!

Dominique Barnes led in points (12) and rebounds (23), Mariah Matthews led in assists (4), and Kaionna Hanna led in steals (3).

Valley Forge is looking to ride this momentum into their next game when they play on the road at Rosemont College on Saturday February 10th. Game time is 3 PM.