No. 24 Messiah 66, Lebanon Valley 45

LVC Starters
Lehr, Evans, Bamberger, Scarff, Mealey

Messiah Starters
Hoff, Thornton, Fairbanks, Smoluk, Rohrer

How It Happened
GRANTHAM, Pa. – Lebanon Valley hung with No. 24 Messiah for three quarters, but the Falcons outscored the Dutchmen 20-5 in the final period and downed LVC 66-45 on Wednesday night in MAC Commonwealth women's basketball action. The Dutchmen now sit at 9-8, 4-4 MAC Commonwealth, while Messiah improved to 15-2, 7-1 MAC Commonwealth.

With the Falcons up by five at 29-24 at halftime, the Dutchmen opened up the third quarter on a 5-0 spurt, including three points from Caroline Scarff to tie the contest at 29-29. Throughout the remainder of the period, LVC kept it close and had an answer for the majority of the Falcons' buckets. Messiah was ahead by as many as seven in the third, but the Dutchmen hung around and were down by just six at 46-40 heading into the fourth.

The Falcons opened up fourth-quarter action on an 11-0 run to take a 57-40 advantage with 5:19 to go. That was the turning point in the game, as LVC wasn't able to dig itself out of the hole and suffered the 66-45 setback.

Messiah opened up the game on an 8-4 spurt, and later extended its lead to 17-6 with 1:37 remaining in the first. The Dutchmen fought back and ended the quarter on a 5-2 run, capped by an Anne Lehr layup, and LVC was down by just eight at 19-11 heading into the second quarter.

The Dutchmen carried that momentum into the second and fought back thanks to a 13-6 run to come to within one of the Falcons at 25-24 with 1:24 left. Messiah went into halftime with a 29-24 advantage, but a critical run by LVC brought the Dutchmen back into the game going into halftime. The Falcons' big fourth quarter however, proved to be the difference.

Inside the Numbers
 - Emily Mealey paced LVC's offense with 12 points, while adding five boards.
 - Lehr finished with 10 points, four steals, and three assists in 37 minutes of action.
 - Scarff chipped in seven points for the Dutchmen and pulled in four rebounds.
 - Messiah's Leah Springer scored a game-high 17 points off the bench and Kaitlyn Hoff (13) and Alecia Rohrer (12) were also in double digits in points.
 - The Falcons held the edge in field goal percentage at 47.6-29.8.
 - LVC led in second-chance points at 13-10.

Who's Next?
The Dutchmen travel to Reading on Saturday to take on MAC Commonwealth opponent Alvernia. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

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