The first seeded Dutchmen host second seed Messiah Saturday afternoon with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line. LVC swept the Falcons in the regular season, and look to make it three-straight.

 

Admission will be charged for all Commonwealth Conference playoff games. The cost for adults is $6, seniors is $4, students is $2 and children under six will get in free of charge.

 

The game will be heard live in the lower Susquehanna Valley on WWSM 1510 AM. John Wilsbach and Brian Keyser will handle the action. The game can also be heard online at www.wmssfm.com. Live stats of the game will be available on GoDutchmen.com.

 

LVC defeated Alvernia, 87-77, behind Andrea Hoover's first career double-double and Suzie Noyes's 22 points. Hoover had 17 points, 10 assists, and six boards, and Noyes was 14-of-17 at the free throw line to lead all scorers. Caitlin Murphy added 13 and Eryn Schultz tallied 11 points. The game was a back-and-forth shootout as both teams had their stroke; LVC, with a season-high 87 points, shot 51 percent (29-of-57). The lead changed hands 12 times with eight ties, but the dagger for Lebanon Valley came with 2:39 left after back-to-back LVC buckets established a five-point lead. With Alvernia threatening, Noyes chucked up a desperation three-pointer to beat the shot clock, but was fouled in the process and made all three tries to turn it into a 78-70 lead for the Dutchmen.

 

In Grantham, Messiah posted an 85-70 win over Widener to advance to the title game. With several Messiah players in foul trouble, four bench players entered the game and made the difference. Sophomore Anna Walker and freshmen Julia Groves, Kira Maier and Tremaine Simmons combined to score 28 points and play a combined 70 minutes in the victory. A layup and two free throws put Messiah up 46-38 with 16:54 to go, and two layups a minute later pushed its lead to 15 points. Widener trailed by as many as 16 points with 10:56 remaining before closing the gap to nine twice, but the Pride never came closer down the stretch.

 

The Dutchmen swept the season series, beginning with a 58-42 win in late January at home. The victory marked the first time in program history that the Dutchmen defeated a top-ten opponent, and also snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Falcons. Eryn Schultz led the team in scoring, posting four three-pointers to set a new program record with 169 career three's at the time. LVC followed with a 52-39 victory at Messiah in February. Aggressive defense by the Dutchmen held the Falcons to a season-low in scoring and snapped Messiah's 51-game home conference win streak. Andrea Hoover posted a team-high 14 points and four assists, and Schultz tallied nine points, while LVC's defense limited Messiah's leading scorers (Julie Henninger and Dori Gyori) to a combined nine points.

 

The junior class has led the Dutchmen all season long and continue to, as all three players lead the team in scoring. Eryn Schultz maintains a team-best 13.8 points per game and 83 three-pointers made, while Suzie Noyes averages 12.5 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game and has a team-high 31 blocks. Andrea Hoover rounds out the top-three with 11.5 points per game and a team-high 142 assists. The Dutchmen hold an advantage in turnovers, with LVC committing 106 less than their opponents.

 

The Falcons finished the regular season with a 62-48 win over Albright to rebound from a three point loss at Alvernia just two days before. Against Alvernia, the Falcons allowed a season-high 42 points in the second half, giving up the nine point lead they held at the half. Dori Gyori led the team with 18 points, while Julie Henninger added 16 points. Messiah rebounded against Albright in the last regular season game of the season to secure the second seed in the playoffs. The Falcons held a 16 point advantage at the half and cruised to the win. Dori Gyori continued to lead the team with 17 points and Julie Henninger posted 13 points.

 

LVC is making its ninth appearance in the MAC or Commonwealth Conference playoffs ... LVC has a 4-8 all-time playoff record ... This is LVC's first #1 seeding since 2001-02 and second overall ... LVC has never won the conference title, but has reached the final three times, in 2001-02, 2007-08, and 2008-09 … LVC and Messiah have met three times in the playoffs and have yet to record a victory … The two teams last met in 2008, with the Falcons posting a 54-47 win.