DELHI, N.Y. (February 17, 2018) – It was a day of festivities on and off the court for the SUNY Delhi women's basketball team's regular season finale versus Central Penn Saturday. Before tallying a commanding 86-68 win over the Knights, the Broncos celebrated their Youth Day, welcoming members of the third and fourth grade Delhi Pick League youth basketball teams. The event was sponsored by Cadi campus support services. SUNY Delhi improved to 16-12 on the year.
The day was also headlined with head coach Vicki Andruszkiewicz and company honoring sophomore guard Samiaya Salley on becoming the Broncos' all-time career scorer this past week, as well as becoming the program's second-ever 1,000 career-point scorer and the second to reach it in just two years. SUNY Delhi's previous leading scorer Jennifer LePinnet-Clark (1,033 points from 2002-04) was on hand to honor Salley, and the sophomore returned the favor by delivering a career-high 42 points for her first-ever 40-point game; she also had nine rebounds with six assists. The Highland Falls, NY native, who now has 1,095 career points, was also joined Saturday by her family: mother Nephteria, sisters Ajay and Lauren-Teri, uncle Jonathan and friend Joshua Grant.
"Today was a day Samiaya Salley is going to remember for the rest of her life," related Andruszkiewicz. "She has worked so hard to accomplish these rare feats and I could not be more proud of her. A huge thank you goes out to Jennifer for attending and giving our team a pre-game motivation talk. Everyone was so excited to meet her, especially Samiaya. It was awesome to see firsthand how hard work pays off. This is only a milestone for Samiaya. She is only a sophomore and I cannot wait to see what else she accomplishes at SUNY Delhi."
Salley split her point total evenly between the halves, bookended by a 13-point first quarter and a 12-point fourth period. Her performance Saturday came just two days after netting 38 points at Cazenovia on Thursday. With 37 points already to her credit on the Knights, and looking to pass her previous career high of 39 points, Salley made it an even 40 on a long-range 3-pointer late in the game to wow the crowd. She tacked on a pair of free throws to close out her day, finishing 13-for-22 from the field, 7-of-14 from behind the arc and 9-for-10 from the charity stripe.
Despite trailing by as much as four points early on, the Broncos quickly took control, stretching their lead to as many as 22 points in the first half and taking a 48-28 lead into halftime. Delhi pressed on, lengthening their lead to as much as 33 points in the fourth quarter, with three other Broncos posting double-digit days. Camryn McDonald logged her 19th double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kiera Holland scored 15 points with six boards and Erica Cornmire registering 14 points with five boards.
The Broncos outworked the Knights in shooting from the floor, making 42.3 percent (30-for-71) to CP's 41.8 (28-for-67), and holding them to just a 1-for-7 showing from 3-point range. Delhi finished 9-for-21 from long range on the day, and connected on 17-of-26 free throws, while the Knights made 11-of-19. SUNY Delhi also outrebounded Central Penn, 48-38, and held leads in points in the paint (26-17), and second-chance points (23-16).
Coach Andruszkiewicz's team now turns their attention to next weekend's NIAC Tournament at Villa Maria. Delhi will face Maine Fort Kent in the semifinals on Friday, Feb. 23 at 2:00 p.m.