Lebanon Valley 64, Misericordia 59

LVC Starters
Lehr, Evans, Bamberger, Scarff, Mealey

Misericordia Starters
Carroll, Forsyth, Haefele, Carmody, Wampole

How It Happened
DALLAS, Pa. – Lebanon Valley held off a late Misericordia surge and defeated the Cougars 64-59 in the Dutchmen's 2017-18 season opener on Wednesday night. LVC moved to 1-0, while Misericordia fell to 0-1.

Down by one at 42-41 heading into the fourth quarter, Caroline Scarff gave the Dutchmen a one-point lead at 43-42 with a layup early on in the fourth. That sparked an 11-5 run that spanned over three minutes of action and LVC held a 54-47 advantage with 6:34 remaining. The Dutchmen maintained their narrow lead for the majority of the fourth, and with 46 seconds to go and LVC up 60-56, Becky Evans sank two big free throws to put the Dutchmen up by six. The Cougars made it close near the end when Emma Hayes drilled a 3-pointer with 15 seconds ticks left to come to within three of LVC at 62-59, but with six seconds left, Evans knocked down two more free throws and the Dutchmen held on for the five-point victory.

LVC began the game on a 13-5 run, capped by Morgan Bamberger's trey. After Scarff's layup with 2:50 left in the first made it 15-7, Misericordia rattled off seven straight to come to within one at 15-14. Emily Mealey answered with a jumper and the Dutchmen held a three-point advantage at 17-14 after one quarter of action.

The game got even closer in the second quarter and with 3:50 to go, Paige Wampole's layup tied the game at 25-25. Mealey again provided an answer to stop the bleeding and connected on a layup to put LVC ahead by two at 27-25 with 3:35 remaining in the half. After Jen Kaufman's good free throw, Wampole hit a pair from the charity stripe, however the Dutchmen still maintained a lead (28-27) heading into halftime.

Mealey's strong performance carried over into the third quarter and she hit a jumper, followed by another Bamberger 3-pointer to put LVC up by three at 33-30 with 7:12 left in the third. The Cougars answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead with 5:35 remaining in the quarter. Misericordia went ahead by as many as five in the third, but ended the quarter with just a one-point lead at 42-41, keeping the Dutchmen within striking distance.

Inside the Numbers
 - Mealey had a memorable debut for LVC, finishing with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.
 - Evans scored 15 points, including an 11-for-12 mark form the free throw line.
 - Anne Lehr finished with a career-high 10 assists, the second-most in one game in LVC women's basketball history.
 - Scarff chipped in 14 points and added four rebounds in 25 minutes of action.
 - Bamberger went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
 - Japriya Carroll paced the Cougars with 17 points.
 - Wampole added nine points and a game-high 12 boards for Misericordia.
 - The Dutchmen took advantage of several Misericordia turnovers and turned them into 21 points.
 - LVC dominated with 28 points in the paint compared to the Cougars' 12.
 - As a team, the Dutchmen shot 41.5-percent from the floor, while Misericordia shot 27.4-percent.

Who's Next?
The annual Rinso Marquette Tournament awaits LVC this weekend. On Saturday at 5 p.m., the Dutchmen will battle Ursinus before taking on either Moravian or Eastern on Sunday at either 12 p.m. or 2 p.m.

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