NEW YORK CITY -
Bridget Rothert drained 31 points and a program-record seven three-pointers to lead Lebanon Valley past Eastern, 74-59, and into the Hunter Tip-Off Tournament final.
The Flying Dutchmen (4-0), who had to come back from down a point at halftime, will play the host Hawks Saturday at 3 p.m. in the final. Hunter defeated Old Westbury 70-63 in the evening's first game.
Rothert provided LVC's biggest scoring night in nearly a decade, shooting a blistering 11-for-17 overall and 7-for-12 from beyond the arc to go with eight rebounds. Her seven three-pointers are a single-game record, topping four players who had made six (most recently former teammate
Lauren Ruhl '14 in 2011); her 31 points are the most by a Dutchman since Erin Eaby '05 sank 33 against Medaille in the 2005 ECAC Tournament. LVC's 10 team three-pointers were also a record, with
Taylor Umbrell (2) and
Lauren Derby (1) adding to Rothert's total.
Umbrell added to the offensive attack, dropping in 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds, while LVC received solid bench contributions from
Lexie Lantz (7 points, 4 rebounds) and
Peyton Carper (5 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists). The Dutchmen shot 46.4 percent overall and 52.6 percent from three-point range to overcome a 26-turnover night.
Defensively, LVC held Eastern to 35 percent shooting and just two three-pointers on 18 attempts. Emily Lavin's 21-point, 10-rebound double-double paced the Eagles (2-1), and Meghan Nowak had 15 points.
A sloppy opening saw the lead bounce back and forth, and consecutive three's by Rothert and Derby put LVC up just before halftime until a pair of free throws and Nowak's layup at the buzzer gave the Eagles a 31-30 lead at the break. The Dutchmen immediately seized control in the second half, however, capitalizing on a 9-2 run capped by Rothert's fastbreak layup to go up 44-38. Her three-pointer seconds later built the lead to nine points, and the Dutchmen didn't trail after that, cementing the win with another 9-0 run later in the half.
LVC held a whopping 50-27 rebounding advantage on Eastern, including 35-16 on the defensive glass.
