Box Score
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Lebanon Valley College overcame a late Lycoming College surge with a 13-2 run near the end of the game to win the regular-season finale, 68-55, at Lamade Gym Saturday afternoon.
The Flying Dutchmen (21-4, 5-4 CC) finished a regular season that marked an incredible turnaround for a program that went 7-17 and missed the conference playoffs in 2006-07. The Dutchmen will be the Commonwealth Conference's third seed and travel to Albright for the semifinals Wednesday at 6 p.m.
In the conference's other matchup, top-seeded Messiah will host Widener, which clinched the fourth and final berth with a win over Elizabethtown.
Freshman Eryn Schultz scored 13 points, including three big second-half three-pointers. Classmate Lori Lidlow led LVC with 14 points, and junior Megan Bish worked her 11th career double-double with a 10-point, 10-rebound performance. Amanda Clouse led Lycoming with 11 points.
Both teams started off slowly before the Dutchmen ran off nine straight points midway through the first to take an 18-8 lead with 9:30 to go. LVC kept the lead around 10 for most of the half, and a 7-0 run capped by Bish's three-pointer around the four-minute mark extended the lead to 27-14.
Lycoming did its best to get back in the game before halftime. A long-range trey by Allison Mock brought Lyco back within 10, and Andrea Cooper's runner cut the score to 29-21 with 1:35 remaining. But a quick 15-foot jumper by Andrea Hoover and Mindy Bennett's post-up put the Dutchmen on top, 33-21, heading into the break.
The second half began with more LVC offense as the Dutchmen pulled out to a 43-29 lead.
Lycoming cut the lead to single digits with a 5-0 run. The two sides traded baskets and Lycoming hung around, and with six minutes left, consecutive Warrior buckets made it a six-point game as LVC led 51-45.
Bish got some cushion back with a layup, but Mock's trey cut the lead to five. LVC answered with consecutive three-pointers by Schultz to take a 59-48 lead and cause Lyco to call timeout.
Out of the timeout, Hoover was whistled for her fifth foul, and Jamie Buriak made both of her free throws before Shelly Lobach hit a runner to put LVC back up by 11, and Schultz added a deuce and another three-pointer a moment later to give the Dutchmen a commanding 16-point lead with 1:12 left.
