Box Score Women's Basketball
Messiah College 53, Lebanon Valley College 47

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ANNVILLE, Pa. – In a hard-fought, defensive battle, Lebanon Valley fell short in the Commonwealth Conference championship game on Saturday afternoon to Messiah, 53-47.

The old adage that it's tough to beat a team three times in one season proved true in the title game on Saturday as Messiah (20-7) outlasted the Dutchmen (21-6) for the conference crown. The Falcons' Chelsea Danel was named tournament most valuable player, tallying 12 points, three assists, and two rebounds in the final game.

Sophomore Taylor Umbrell was impressive for the Valley, ripping down 14 rebounds to go along with her nine points, two assists, and two steals. Junior Kiely Chaklos led the scoring with 12 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Lexie Lantz was a power on the low block with 11 points on the afternoon.

Messiah's Katelyn Vanderhoff led all scorers with 15 points and Danel and Glackin each followed her with 12 points apiece. The Falcons' Taylor Miller also contributed with 10 points.

The win snaps LVC's run of three straight Commonwealth Conference championships and gives Messiah an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. It was the seventh straight championship game appearance for LVC and the fifth of the last seven games that featured this matchup.

LVC now awaits its fate, hoping for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament or ECAC Tournament. The NCAA selection show will be streamed live on NCAA.com on Monday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.

LVC's shots just weren't falling all day long, making just 14 of their 54 attempts from the field (25.9%) and knocking down just two shots from distance in eight tries. On the other side, Messiah was efficient, going 14-of-45 from the field (33.3%). Both teams shot great percentages from the charity stripe as the Valley hit on 17 of their 20 free-throw attempts and Messiah converted 20-of-25 from the line.

The Valley's impressive edge in rebounding led to second-chance points that kept them in the game. LVC held a 47-29 advantage on the glass, leading to 16 second-chance points. However, 15 turnovers leading to eight Messiah points compared to 10 Falcons turnovers leading to zero Dutchmen points proved to be the difference.

The game was extremely physical from the opening tip as both teams had difficulty finding rhythm in their offensive sets. A three from Messiah's Taylor Miller at the 12:51 mark gave the Falcons a five-point lead at 7-2, but the 10th point from either side wasn't scored until the 8:44 mark when another Messiah three, this time from Sienna Wisse, put the Falcons up four, 12-8.

However, a quick 7-2 spurt from LVC, led by free throws from Bach and Lantz and a three from Umbrell put the Dutchmen in front, 15-14, with 5:37 to play in the first and the teams traded buckets for the final minutes going into the locker room with Messiah holding a slim one-point advantage, 19-18.

Lantz hit a pair of layups midway through the second half to give LVC its largest lead of the game, up three, 25-22, with 10:54 to play. However, a Vanderhoff layup at the 7:35 mark gave Messiah the lead for good, up 31-29.

Chaklos converted on an acrobatic layup with 1:52 remaining to pull the game within one possession, but Danel sunk an and-one on the other end to seal it. Messiah hit its free throws down the stretch and pulled away for the 53-47 victory.

Continue to check in with GoDutchmen.com or follow @LVCAthletics on Twitter for the latest information on LVC's postseason tournament hopes.