Box Score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Senior center Jennifer Northcott posted 19 points, 19 rebounds and three blocked shots, leading Lebanon Valley to a 50-39 win over Elizabethtown in Commonwealth Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Thompson Gymnasium.

Lebanon Valley (14-6, 7-4 CC) shot just 27.9% for the game, but out-rebounded the Blue Jays 63-44. LVC’s 63 boards were a season-high and just four shy of the school record of 67 set against Albright on Dec. 5, 1994.

Northcott’s 19 points were a game-high, and her 19 boards tied her career-high set as a freshman against Moravian on Jan. 26, 2002.

Senior forward Tamika Rogers added six points, a season-high 14 rebounds, and three blocks for LVC, while senior guard Crystal Gibson had six points and a career-high four blocked shots.

Lebanon Valley tied a season-high with 10 blocks.

Freshman Erin Walton led Elizabethtown (9-11, 5-6 CC) with 17 points. The Blue Jays shot just 22.1% for the game.

With its win, coupled with Widener’s 63-59 loss to Susquehanna, LVC moved a half game ahead of Widener (7-5 CC) into third place in the Commonwealth Conference standings.

The Valley never trailed after jumping out to an 11-5 lead following a Northcott jumper from the right baseline with 12:27 left in the opening half. E-town scored six unanswered points to tie it up with 9:18 on the clock, but that’s when LVC applied the defensive clamps, holding the Blue Jays to no field goals over a six-minute stretch. In the meantime, the Flying Dutchmen outscored E-town 10-1 and enjoyed its largest lead of the half after a pair of Gibson free throws gave LVC a 21-12 lead with 3:53 left in the period. The Jays closed the half on a 5-2 spurt to make it 23-17 at halftime.

LVC out-rebounded the Blue Jays 38-20 in the opening stanza and held an 18-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Northcott posted 10 rebounds and eight points in the first half while Rogers pulled in eight rebounds, including six offensive boards.

Lebanon Valley opened up a 12-point lead (41-29) with 5:52 left following a pair of Erin Eaby free throws. But Elizabethtown came back with a 6-0 spurt, capped by a three-pointer from junior Megan Wolfe with 4:23 left, to cut the deficit to six. But E-town would muster just one field goal the rest of the way, and Lebanon Valley made five of its final eight free throws and ended the game on a 9-5 run.

Lebanon Valley will close out its 2004-05 regular season with three straight home Commonwealth Conference games. On Tuesday, LVC will host Widener at 6 p.m. in the first game of a men’s and women’s doubleheader.

[Photo - Senior center Jennifer Northcott, who had 19 points, 19 rebounds, and three blocks in a 50-39 win over Elizabethtown on Saturday]

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