Box Score

SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Susquehanna University used a game-ending 20-2 run to defeat Lebanon Valley, 68-45, in LVC’s season finale and Flying Dutchman Head Coach Peg Kauffman’s final game on the bench Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Conference women’s basketball.

With its win, coupled with Juniata College’s victory over Albright College, Susquehanna (14-11, 6-8 CC) earned the fourth and final spot in next week’s Commonwealth Conference playoffs.

Kauffman, who will become the interim women’s athletic director at Millersville University later this month, finishes her 13-year stay at Lebanon Valley with a stellar 190-135 record.

Junior forward Monica Johnson capped off an outstanding season with another big game for Lebanon Valley, which closes out the season 7-18 and 2-12 in the Commonwealth. Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, giving her 18 double-doubles for the year, while breaking her second school record in as many games. With her 11th rebound, a defensive carom with 5:25 left in the game, Johnson broke Lebanon Valley’s single-season rebound record of 280 set by Carla Myers ’91 in the 1990-91 season.

Johnson also broke Lebanon Valley’s single-season scoring record in LVC’s 49-45 win over Albright on Tuesday. She finished the season with 489 points and 282 rebounds, becoming the first women’s basketball player in school history to break 400 points and 200 rebounds in the same year. Going into her senior season, Johnson has 932 points, seventh on the school’s all-time scoring list, and 544 rebounds.

Freshman forward Megan Bish scored 10 points for LVC to finish the season with 407 points, tying the single-season freshman scoring record set by Steph Smith ’87 in 1983-84. Bish also pulled down seven rebounds while junior guard Allie Butler and freshman guard Shannon Kueny scored nine points apiece.

Jen Clark led the Crusaders with 18 points. Courtney Thibeault and Ruth Williamson added 15 and 10 points, respectively.

After trailing by as much as 16 early in the second half, Lebanon Valley stormed back to make it a five-point game (48-43) with 7:58 left following a three-pointer from Kueny, who was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. After an 11-0 Susquehanna run, Bish dropped in a lay-up with 4:38 to go, making it 59-45, but that would turn out to be LVC’s final points of the game.

Lebanon Valley held its only two leads early in the game at 5-4 and 7-6. An 8-0 Crusader run midway through the opening period turned a one-point Susquehanna lead into an eight-point advantage (15-7) with 9:28 left in the stanza. The Crusaders led by as much as 12 in first half and took a 34-24 lead into the locker room.

Susquehanna scored the first six points of the second half to reach its 16-point lead (40-24) 1:42 into the period. But LVC came back with eight unanswered points to cut the deficit in half following a Johnson lay-up with 14:53 left in the game. It was 47-36 with 11:10 to go before a 7-1 Lebanon Valley run, capped by Kueny’s late trey.

[Photo - Junior forward Monica Johnson, who broke Lebanon Valley's single-season rebounding record against Susquehanna on Saturday]

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