Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Albright College used a decisive 12-0 run midway through the second half to break open a tight game en route to a 70-62 win over Lebanon Valley in Commonwealth Conference women’s basketball action Tuesday evening at the LVC Gymnasium.
Albright (10-5, 2-3 CC), which received a team-high 15 points from freshman guard Annie McMahon, defeated Lebanon Valley for the first time since Jan. 24, 1998, snapping a 15-game losing streak against LVC. The Lions also ended a 14-game losing streak at Lebanon Valley, winning in Annville for the first time since Feb. 13, 1989.
Lebanon Valley (4-9, 1-4 CC) was led by its frontcourt tandem of freshman Megan Bish and junior Monica Johnson, who shared game-high scoring honors with 17 points. Bish also handed out four assists while Johnson pulled in 12 rebounds for her 10th double-double in 13 games this season. Junior guard Allie Butler added 13 points for the Valley.
Sophomore forward Jennifer DuPrau scored 14 points for Albright while sophomore center Staci Waligorski posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Marie Levins scored nine points for the Lions while junior guard Natalie Bizzarro scored eight points and distributed seven assists.
Albright made 54.0% of its shots and held LVC to 36.5% shooting.
LVC trailed by nine (42-33) with 14:18 left in the game but the Valley used a 10-2 run, capped by a three-pointer from Butler, to pull to within one with 11:38 left. Johnson put back her own missed shot with 10:47 remaining to make it 46-45 in favor of the Lions, but she picked up her fourth foul less than a minute later, sending her to the bench. Albright then embarked on its game-breaking run, with Johnson sitting for most of the stretch. DuPrau scored six points during the run, and a McMahon lay-up with 6:39 made it 58-45, the Lions’ largest lead of the night.
A DuPrau lay-up with 5:35 to go made it 60-47 before a late LVC rally. The Flying Dutchmen ran off an 8-1 run, sparked by three-pointers from Butler and Bish and capped by a Johnson lay-up, to make it a six-point game (61-55) with 3:49 remaining. Another Johnson lay-in cut Albright’s lead to five (64-59) with 1:26 left, but that’s as close as LVC would get, as the Lions sealed the victory at the foul line. Albright made six straight free throws over the final 39 seconds, with Levins making the final four.
The first half was back and forth affair featuring two ties and five lead changes. Lebanon Valley led by six on three occasions, the last coming on a lay-up from freshman guard Shannon Kueny with 7:59 left in the period that made it 21-15. Albright then reeled off a 10-0 run, with McMahon and freshman guard Charlotte Ciccone combining for eight points along the way, as the Lions assumed a 25-21 lead with 4:36 on the clock. Albright’s advantage reached seven (31-24) with 1:44 left after a DuPrau bucket, and the visitors took a 33-29 lead into the intermission.
Albright held LVC to 29.4% shooting in the first half and limited Johnson to two points on 1-of-10 shooting. The Lions shot 51.7% in the opening stanza.
Lebanon Valley returns to Commonwealth Conference action on Saturday, when it hosts Susquehanna University at 3 p.m. in the second game of a men’s and women’s doubleheader.
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