Lebanon Valley 70, Albright 60

LVC Starters
Cirucci, Rothert, Carper, Kelly, Umbrell

Albright Starters
Joyce, Thomas, K. Harris, Bishop, Venture

How It Happened
The Flying Dutchmen fouled out Albright leading-scorer Kelecia Harris and used a 20-10 run over the final 10:55 to capture a crucial 70-60 Commonwealth Conference victory over their longtime rivals at Sorrentino Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Lebanon Valley (13-6, 5-6 CC) got double-digit scoring outputs from Peyton Carper, Lexie Lantz, Bridget Rothert, and Kaitlyn Van Tash. Devan Harris scored a game-high 18 points and Jessica Venturelli added 14 for Albright (14-5, 8-2 CC).

Trailing 50-46 with 11:41 left to play, LVC scored nine-straight points and wouldn't trail again. Alyssa Cirucci's 3-ball gave the Dutchmen the lead for good at the 9:46 mark and four-straight from Van Tash created a seven-point cushion with 6:40 remaining.

When a Devan Horka layup drew the Lions to within three with 5:17 left, Lebanon Valley netted the next five to put Albright in a 64-56 hole at the 2:55 mark. Harris' fifth foul sent her to the bench for good with 4:08 remaining and pair of Van Tash free throws gave LVC its largest lead of the game at 70-58 with 1:46 left to play.

Harris was whistled for two quick fouls to begin the game, forcing her to sub out just 3:05 into the contest. She remained on the sideline the rest of the first half.

Despite Harris' absence, Albright was able to build a 26-19 lead with 3:33 left in the first. Four-straight Lantz points kept LVC within striking distance heading into the half.

Rothert and Carper quickly erased the Dutchmen deficit after the break when they combined for three-straight buckets from beyond the arc, giving LVC a 37-35 advantage 1:51 into the second half.

The Lions reclaimed the lead when Harris' lone field goal of the game put them ahead 40-39 at the 14:38 mark. Albright didn't trail again until Cirucci connected from distance just past the midway point of the second half.  

Notables
- Peyton Carper netted a team-high 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting for LVC, including 50 percent (2-4) from 3-point range, and grabbed five rebounds in just 19 minutes of play.
- Lexie Lantz added 12 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting and pulled-in a team-best six boards. Bridget Rothert added 11 points, including three 3-balls, while Kaitlyn Van Tash finished with ten, eight of which came in the final 7:10.
- With Carper, Lantz, Rothert, and Van Tash's scoring outputs, today's win was the sixth game this season in which at least four LVC players reached the double-digit scoring mark.
- Taylor Umbrell filled out the stat sheet nicely with seven points, four rebounds, and team-highs of eight assists and three steals.
- Lebanon Valley moved the ball well against the Lions as 19 of the team's 26 field goals came off assists. In addition to Umbrell's total, Cirucci dished-out five assists while Rothert added three.
- As a team, the Dutchmen swiped 13 steals and forced 28 Albright turnovers, scoring 26 points off Lion errors. In comparison, Albright forced just ten Lebanon Valley turnovers and managed just four points off TOs.
- All ten of LVC's active players saw time against Albright. Every Dutchman played at least six minutes and all but one player scored at least three points. Despite just six minutes of court time, Lauren Derby netted four on 2-of-4 shooting. Despite an off shooting night, Rachel Kelly made her mark defensively with a game-high three blocks.
- In just her fourth game back from injury, Maureen Fleming scored five points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field.
- A guard by trade, Alex Lehman played big in the second half and scored four of her five points in the paint. The fifth came on a free throw earned when she was fouled driving to the rim among the Lions' frontcourt.
- Albright's loss to Lebanon Valley on Saturday was just the team's second Commonwealth defeat of the season.
- The Dutchmen are currently tied with Lycoming for the fifth spot in the Commonwealth Conference standings. Lyco owns the tiebreaker thanks to a win over LVC earlier this year. The two teams meet again on Feb. 14.
 
Stat of the Game
13 – The number of minutes Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year candidate Kelecia Harris played before fouling out. Harris entered today's game averaging 16.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. The Dutchmen held her to just two points and six boards on Saturday afternoon.

Next Up
The Dutchmen travel to Arcadia (10-10, 6-5 CC) for another crucial Commonwealth contest on Wednesday night. LVC defeated the Knights 71-62 in Annville on Jan. 3 in the teams' first meeting this season.