Box Score

GRANTHAM, Pa. - No. 11 Messiah College halted Lebanon Valley College's perfect 14-0 start, capitalizing on a sloppy first half by LVC to win, 66-42, in Commonwealth Conference women's basketball action Tuesday night.

The Dutchmen (14-1, 0-1 CC) lost for the first time this season after the best start in program history. The 14-game streak also marks the second-best in program history, three games shy of a 17-game run in 2001-02.

The Falcons (13-2, 1-0 CC) bounced back from a loss to nationally-ranked Kean University over the weekend.

LVC suffered a miserable first half, turning the ball over 19 times and shooting just 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from the field. Messiah, meanwhile, was red hot, making 15-of-23 from the field in the first half.

Nikki Lobach led all scorers with 16 points for the Falcons. Suzie Noyes and Lori Lidlow each scored 11 for LVC, with Noyes adding eight boards.

It was a rough start for the Dutchmen, who fell in a 19-5 hole midway through the first half and never recovered. As both teams had plenty of sloppy moments, the difference was in Messiah's shooting, and LVC quickly ended up down 18, 33-15, at the half.

Messiah kept the pressure on in the second half, going up by 26 in the opening minutes, but LVC pressed back and cut the lead to 19 on Noyes' jumper with 14:09 to go.

A much-improved Dutchmen team kept at it, but simply could not match up with Messiah's front-court size as the Falcons banged out 24 points in the paint and out-rebounded LVC by a whopping 40-20.

Bench scoring became an issue as well, and Messiah's depth led to 25 points while LVC got just two points - from freshman Shelly Lobach - from its subs.

Lebanon Valley will host Albright College Saturday at 3 p.m. in a Commonwealth Conference clash.