Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Junior center Jennifer Northcott (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) posted 12 points and 11 rebounds while junior guard Crystal Gibson (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists as No. 21 Lebanon Valley defeated Widener University 61-58 in Commonwealth Conference women's basketball action at the LVC Gymnasium Tuesday evening.
LVC (13-1, 4-1 CC) has now won its last eight games and is 7-0 in the month of January. Widener (11-4, 3-2 CC) had its eight-game winning streak snapped and lost for the first time since Dec. 2.
Senior forward Nikki Carden (Phoenixville, Pa./Villia Maria Academy) and junior guard Nicole Stanley (West Conshohocken, Pa./Upper Merion) led the Pioneers with 15 points apiece while senior forward Erin Nemshick (York, Pa./West York) pulled down 10 rebounds.
Junior forward Tamika Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Milford Academy) just missed her third double-double of the year, as she registered nine points and 10 rebounds.
Widener had a chance to tie the game just before the buzzer, but Carden misfired on a shot at the top of the key and just inside the three-point line.
Widener trailed just 58-57 after Stanley converted a conventional three-point play with 1:09 left in the game. LVC pushed its lead to three when Gibson found Rogers wide open beneath the basket for a layup with 48 seconds to go. But Widener kept it close, as Nemshick hit 1-of-2 free throws with five seconds left after drawing a foul following an offensive rebound. The Pioneers fouled Rogers on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Rogers canned 1-of-2 foul shots to set the final score.
Lebanon Valley started the game on fire, making six of its first nine shots while building a 17-2 lead over the opening 4:58. Widener missed its first seven shots during the run and failed to convert a field goal until Carden splashed home a three-pointer with 14:40 left in the opening half.
The Pioneers continued to chip away at the lead and cut the gap to six (23-17) with 7:00 to go in the period after outscoring the Valley 15-6 over a 8:02 span. Widener came all the way back to tie the game (28-28) with 2:54 left in the half following an 11-3 Pioneer run. LVC led just 31-30 at the break.
The second half was extremely close, as there were four ties and seven changes. Widener took its first lead of the game when Stanley dropped in layup to give her team a 32-31 edge with 18:35 to go. The Pioneers led by as much as five (42-37) with 15:03 left following a 6-0 surge. The game was tied at 46-46 with 10:49 left, but a fastbreak layup from junior guard Erin Eaby (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) put the Valley ahead to stay. LVC led by as much six on two different occasions down the stretch.
Lebanon Valley shot 39.1% from the field and tied a season-low with its 50.0% (8-for-16) performance at the foul line. Widener shot just 35.5% from the field, 28.6% (4-of-14) from three-point range and 52.6% (10-of-19) at the free-throw line.
The two teams combined for 49 turnovers.
Lebanon Valley returns to action on Saturday when it visits Elizabethtown College at 2 p.m. in the first game of a men's and women's Commonwealth Conference doubleheader.
[Photo - Junior guard Crystal Gibson, who posted 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists in LVC's 61-58 win over Widener on Tuesday evening]
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