Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Susquehanna University rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit and the Crusaders held on to defeat Lebanon Valley 63-60 in Commonwealth Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at the LVC Gymnasium.

Junior forward Jen Clark paced Susquehanna (10-6, 3-3 CC) with 18 points while junior guard Sarah Jane Kalejta posted 15 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. She also tied a gym record with eight steals. Sophomore center Bri McNallen tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds while sophomore forward Val Houseal added 10 points off the bench.

Lebanon Valley (4-10, 1-5 CC) was paced by freshman forward Megan Bish, who recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Crusaders held junior forward Monica Johnson to a season-low 11 points, but she still managed to post her 11th double-double of the year with 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Donna Geiger contributed 10 points for LVC.

Susquehanna led by as much as eight (56-48) with 2:43 left following a Kalejta field goal. But Lebanon Valley kept it close, and a Bish three-pointer with 14 seconds left made it a four-point game (62-58). McNallen made the second of two free throws with 11 seconds remaining before a Johnson put-back cut it to three with two seconds showing. However, Susquehanna was able to avoid getting fouled before the buzzer on the ensuing inbounds pass.

The Crusaders struggled offensively in the first half, shooting just 21.6% from the field. LVC never trailed in the opening stanza after opening the game on an 8-0 run, and the Crusaders didn’t get on the scoreboard until McNallen dropped in a lay-up with 16:35 on the clock. However, that bucket was the start of a 9-2 SU run that made it 10-9 with 13:48 to go in the period.

Lebanon Valley then scored nine straight points while holding the Crusaders scoreless over a 5:48 stretch to build a 19-9 lead with 8:00 to go. Susquehanna missed 12 straight field goals during the drought, which ended on a Houseal three-pointer with 7:38 left in the half. SU trailed by only a bucket (23-21) with 4:28 remaining before LVC scored the final six points of the half, capped by a fast-break lay-up from Geiger just before the horn.

A Bish lay-up with 17:33 left in the contest gave LVC its largest lead (34-23) of the game. Lebanon Valley led by eight (41-33) with 12:02 to go after a Johnson lay-up, but the Crusaders came back with an extensive 16-1 run over a 6:07 span to take a 49-42 advantage with 5:55 left. Bish converted a lay-up with 4:38 on the clock to make it 49-46 before Susquehanna used a 7-2 spurt to take its late eight-point lead.

Lebanon Valley picks up its schedule on Monday, when it hosts Lincoln University at 7 p.m. in a non-conference affair.

[Photo - Freshman forward Megan Bish]

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