Lebanon Valley 70, Widener 49

LVC Starters
Yoh, Lehr, Evans, Copeland, Lantz

Widener Starters
Gallagher, Ireland, Rimmer, Furgiuele, Petri

How It Happened
CHESTER, Pa. -  Lebanon Valley kept pace with Lycoming for the fourth MAC Commonwealth playoff spot with a convincing 70-49 win over Widener University on Wednesday night in women's basketball action. The Dutchmen improved to 10-11, 7-5 MACC, while the Pride fell to 6-14, 3-8 MACC.

With LVC ahead by just three at 30-27 at the start of the third quarter, the Dutchmen came out on fire, beginning the period on a 15-5 run to increase their lead drastically to 45-32 with 3:06 left. LVC went on to outscore Widener 17-9 in the quarter and went into the fourth with a double-digit lead at 47-36.

In the fourth, the Dutchmen never let the Pride make it a game, and LVC led by as many as 24 en route to the comfortable 70-49 victory.

The first half was a much different story, as the game was knotted at 10-10 with 2:50 left in the first. With two seconds to go in the quarter, Hilary Yoh netted two of her 26 points that gave LVC a narrow 14-13 advantage heading into the second quarter.

The back-and-forth pace carried over into the second and Widener actually took the lead at 21-20 with 5:32 to go in the half, however an 8-1 spurt by the Dutchmen put them back up at 28-22 with 2:57 remaining. The Pride clawed back in the final two minutes and LVC led by just three at 30-27 at halftime.

Inside the Numbers
 - Hilary Yoh finished with 26 points, a new career-high. This marks the eighth time this season that Yoh has surpassed a previous career-high in points. The senior captain added 10 rebounds to record the double-double.
 - Becky Evans was also in double-digits in points with 14, while Lexie Lantz chipped in eight points and brought down a game-high 16 rebounds.
 - LVC outshot Widener 42.2-percent to 26.6-percent from the floor.
 - The Dutchmen overpowered the Pride in total rebounds at 55-35.
 - Widener was led by Allison Gallagher (13 points) and Devan Rimmer (12 points).

Playoff Picture
LVC kept pace with Lycoming in the conference standings with both teams sporting a 7-5 conference mark, good enough for a tie for fourth. The top five teams in the conference will make the playoffs and the Dutchmen and Warriors square off in Annville in the last regular season game on Feb. 14.

Who's Next?
MAC Commonwealth action gets tougher for LVC when the Dutchmen travel to take on the conference's top team, Albright, on Saturday at 2 p.m.