No. 19 Albright 66, Lebanon Valley 59

LVC Starters
Cirucci, Chaklos, Carper, Troutman, Umbrell

Albright Starters
Joyce, Thomas, Harris, Mazzarelli, Lofton

How It Happened
READING, Pa. – Tied at 29-29 at halftime, No. 19 Albright outscored Lebanon Valley 19-7 in the third quarter as the Dutchmen's comeback fell just short and the Lions held off LVC for the 66-59 win. The Dutchmen now sit at 11-7, 5-4 MAC Commonwealth, while Albright improved to 16-2, 8-1 MAC Commonwealth.

Peyton Carper was the story for the Dutchmen offensively, as the senior scored a career-high 25 points to lead LVC.

At the start of the third quarter, Carper scored the half's first points with a layup to put LVC up 31-29 at 9:08, however a 17-4 run over the next seven minutes of action put the Lions ahead 46-35 with 2:14 left in the third. Taylor Umbrell kept LVC within striking distance in the final minute of the quarter with a good free throw, but Albright took a 48-36 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter is when LVC began to creep closer to the Lions. Kiely Chaklos hit a couple of free throws at 7:53 to make it 48-40, and after an Alyssa Cirucci steal, Chaklos drew another foul and sank two more free throws to bring the Dutchmen to within six at 48-42 with 7:43 left. The Lions, however, scored six consecutive points to make it 56-42 with 5:59 remaining.

LVC refused to quit down the stretch and answered with a 13-5 run over the next five minutes of play, which was capped off by a 3-pointer from Carper that brought the Dutchmen to within six at 61-55 with 2:26 to go in the fourth. With 50 ticks left on the clock, Umbrell connected on a layup to make it just a four-point game in favor of Albright at 63-59. The Lions were 3-for-3 from the charity stripe for the remainder of the quarter and were able to hold on LVC's furious comeback.

It was a very back-and-forth first quarter as neither team held more than a four-point advantage in the quarter's entirety. A layup from Carper put the Dutchmen up 14-10 with 2:17 left in the first, but five straight from the Lions gave them a 15-14 advantage after one quarter of action.

Albright's biggest lead of the first half came with 7:51 left in the second quarter at 23-17, but from there, Bridget Rothert hit a tret to make it 23-20 and followed with two free throws to make the score 23-22 Albright with 6:38 left in the half. The Lions extended the lead to 29-24 with 3:11 left, but the Dutchmen ended quarter scoring five straight points, a three from Umbrell and jumper from Lexie Lantz, to tie it up at 29-29 heading into halftime.

Inside the Numbers
 - Rothert and Lantz each totaled 10 points, while Umbrell chipped in six points and five rebounds.
 - LVC's bench outscored Albright's 15-8.
 - The Lions held the slight edge in points in the paint at 34-26.

Carper Shines
Carper bested her previous career-high by one point, as she scored 24 in LVC's win over Montclair St. last month. She was 9-for-12 from the field in 21 minutes of action.

Who's Next?
The Dutchmen return home to face Hood in the Pink Game on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.