Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. - Freshman Lori Lidlow drained 28 points and LVC ended the game on a 23-7 run as it rolled past Elizabethtown College, 83-57, Saturday to clinch a berth in the Commonwealth Conference playoffs.
The Flying Dutchmen (20-3, 5-3) also reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth time in program history. One of the nation's most improved teams this season, LVC finished last year at 7-17, and will now make its first CC playoff appearance since 2004-05. The Blue Jays (10-13, 1-7 CC) were dealt a big blow in their quest to stay in playoff contention.
With wins by both Messiah and Albright, LVC will be shut out of a first-round home game, and will have to hit the road to one of those two schools for the first round of the playoffs on Feb. 27.
Lidlow was an exceptional 11-of-15 from the field, and added five boards, two blocks and three steals to her stat line. Freshman Andrea Hoover also had an outstanding game, scoring 14 points with nine assists, six steals and just one turnover.
The game wasn't nearly as lopsided as the final score would indicate, and Elizabethtown actually led for most of the first half. After an entertaining opening in which the two teams made their first five shots combined, E-town took a six-point lead midway through the stanza. LVC managed to erase the deficit to take the lead on Hoover's layup with 7:12 to go in the half, then hit a 7-0 run that included an Eryn Schultz three-pointer and two buckets from Lidlow.
LVC kept up the pressure to end the half, and a pair of Lidlow free throws gave the Dutchmen a 10-point edge with 28 seconds to go. Jenn Montague's layup with 10 ticks left cut LVC's lead to eight, and the Dutchmen led 44-36 at the break despite a blistering 57.7 percent shooting performance by the Blue Jays.
The second half, however, was all LVC as the Dutchmen shot 57.7 percent from the floor and started the half by running their lead to 18 with 12:11 remaining. E-town didn't give up, and a 9-0 run by the Blue Jays cut LVC's lead to nine with 8:52 remaining.
The tables turned when two foul shots by Megan Bish and two straight baskets by Lidlow sparked off a huge 19-1 run over a five-minute period as LVC took a 28-point lead after Jenna Gambino's jumper with 1:35 left.
LVC shot a solid 54 percent from the floor overall and used 15 steals to generate 33 points off E-town turnovers. After a red-hot first half, the Blue Jays shot just 7-of-30 in the second and finished at 39.3 percent overall.
Lebanon Valley will play its home finale against No. 7 Messiah College Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
