Women's Basketball
Lebanon Valley 55, Alvernia 38

Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Double-doubles from Andrea Hoover and Suzie Noyes lifted #17/#15 Lebanon Valley women's basketball to its fourth consecutive Commonwealth Conference championship game. The Dutchmen pulled away from Alvernia late in the second half for the 55-38 victory.

LVC (23-2) will try to win its first-ever conference championship when they host #2 Messiah, a 74-63 winner over Widener, in the title game on Saturday at 1 p.m. The winner will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Renee Fritz led the team in scoring for the second-straight contest, recording 16 points and two blocks. Hoover and Noyes both notched 10 points against the Crusaders, and Caitlin Murphy added eight points. Noyes led the team with 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, while Hoover dished out 10 assists for her second-straight double-double.

Angela Altemose notched a double-double for the Crusaders with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

A 3-pointer by Murphy opened the game for LVC and the team didn't wait long to pull away, leading by double digits at the half way mark of the first. Two baskets from Noyes and another 3-pointer from Murphy gave the Dutchmen a 16 point advantage with 6:28 remaining. Alvernia went on a 14-6 run to end the first half, as Lebanon Valley led 30-22.

The Crusaders started the second half strong, coming within four points at 17:09 after two free throws by Alisa Greco. Lebanon Valley scored 19 straight points and held Alvernia to four points over the next nine minutes to reach a game-high 19 point lead. The Dutchmen registered four points, while the Crusaders scored six to end the game.

LVC shot 46.9% from the floor, was 3-for-8 from behind the arc, and made all six free throws in the contest. Alvernia shot 28%, did not make a 3-point shot, and went 62.5% from the line.

Playing tough defense, Lebanon Valley held Alvernia under 40 points for the second-straight contest. It also marked the eighth game this season the Dutchmen have limited an opponent to 39 or fewer points.

It will be the third-straight year the CC title goes through Annville after Messiah outlasted LVC, 60-55, last year. LVC and Messiah have met three times before for the title, in 2001-02, 2007-08, and 2009-10 with the Falcons winning all three. The two teams split the season series this year.