Alvernia 69, Lebanon Valley 55

LVC Starters
Rothert, Umbrell, Carper, Cirucci, Lantz

Alvernia Starters
Yoh, Roberts, Ebersole, Wolff, Lobb

How It Happened
A slow start proved too much to overcome for Lebanon Valley in the team's 69-55 road loss at the hands of Alvernia at Jack McCloskey Court on Tuesday night.

Taylor Umbrell was one rebound shy of recording a double-double (14 points, nine rebounds) and Bridget Rothert scored a game-high 17 points in a contest that saw LVC (16-8, 7-8 CC) fall behind 21-4 to begin the game and trail by as many as 28. The Flying Dutchmen cut the Alvernia advantage to single digits with 2:41 left to play but in the end, the deficit was too much to erase.

The Crusaders (8-16, 4-11 CC) shot 52 percent in the first half, including 46 percent from beyond the arc, and took a 39-15 lead into intermission. Lebanon Valley managed just 20 percent shooting (7-of-35) in the opening 20 minutes.

The Dutchmen played much better after the break, upping their shooting percentage dramatically to 42 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from three-point land. They also grabbed nine more boards than Alvernia after being outrebounded in the first half.

Trailing 45-17 early in the second half, LVC showed some signs of life with a 10-0 run capped by an Umbrell three-ball at the 13:01 mark. The Dutchmen scored 11 straight as the final minutes ticked away and an Alyssa Cirucci jumper cut the Alvernia lead to just nine with 2:51 remaining. A Rothert three-pointer drew them to within eight with 1:48 left but the Crusaders converted their free throws in crunch time and held on for the win.

Notables
- Bridget Rothert scored 15 of her game-high 17 points and Taylor Umbrell netted nine of her 14 in the second half against Alvernia.
- Peyton Carper grabbed six rebounds to go along with her nine points. Alex Lehman also pulled-in six boards.
- Kaitlyn Van Tash added eight points and corralled five rebounds; she was the only LVC non-starter to score. Lexie Lantz also gathered in five boards.
- The Dutchmen's 15 first half points and no made free throws were season lows.
- Thanks to a strong second half, Lebanon Valley outrebounded the Crusaders 45-40 overall.

Stat of the Game
1 – The number of free throws Lebanon Valley attempted against Alvernia. In comparison, the Crusaders got to the line 29 times, converting 23 foul shots.

Playoff Positioning
- Despite the loss to Alvernia, the Dutchmen will be playing postseason basketball this year. Lycoming's loss to Stevenson Tuesday night clinched a spot for LVC in the 2015 Commonwealth Conference playoff tournament.  

Next Up
LVC hosts the Commonwealth Conference leaders from Stevenson (21-2, 15-0 CC) on Saturday afternoon in the team's regular season finale.