Lebanon Valley 66, Stevenson 60
 
LVC Starters
Lehr, Bamberger, Scarff, Ray, Venezia
 
Stevenson Starters
Hall, Campbell, Crist, Curry, Coleman
 
How It Happened
 
Anne Lehr delivered a career-best performance to lead Lebanon Valley to a 66-60 win over Stevenson in each team's MAC Commonwealth opener on Wednesday in women's basketball action inside Sorrentino Gymnasium. The Dutchmen improved to 3-4, 1-0 MACC, while the Mustangs dropped to 2-3, 0-1 MACC.
 
In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Veronica Venezia sank a layup to give the home team a 50-40 lead, its biggest of the night, with 9:25 left in the game. Stevenson, however, answered by scoring six consecutive points to cut the Dutchmen's advantage to just four at 50-46 with 8:06 left. LVC put the spurt to an end when Caroline Scarff made a free throw, followed by Lehr's good jumper at 6:34 to increase LVC's lead back to seven at 53-46. The visitors went on another run, this time scoring six straight points to come to within one of the Dutchmen at 53-52 with 4:53 remaining. The contest remained close until Emily Mealey hit a layup to put LVC ahead by three, followed by Ashley Kline's two-pointer on the fastbreak at 3:39 to make it a five-point Dutchmen lead at 58-53.
 
Down the stretch, the Mustangs kept things close and were within four with 28 ticks left, but Lehr made back-to-back shots from the charity stripe in the final 17 seconds, allowing LVC to hold on for the conference-opening victory.
 
In the first quarter, the Dutchmen led slightly early at 6-4. After the visitors then took an 8-6 advantage thanks to four consecutive points, Lehr hit a jumper to tie it up at 8-8 with 3:53 left. Stevenson then ended the opening quarter on a 5-0 run to go up 13-8 heading into the second quarter.
 
In the second, the Mustangs maintained its slight lead and then increased it to eight points after Hannah Crist's layup put Stevenson ahead 22-14 with 4:13 left in the quarter. From there, it was all LVC, as Kline nailed a 3-pointer with 2:58 to go, bringing the Dutchmen to within one. The Mustangs scored four straight points, but the home team finished off the second on a 6-1 run, capped by Lehr's jumper with 48 ticks left, tying the game at 27-27 at halftime.
 
It remained a close game early on the third, as neither team could separate from the other. Then, with the score knotted at 33-33 with 5:16 remaining in the third, LVC went on an 11-3 run, spanning three minutes of action, to go ahead 44-36 after Jen Eck's layup on the fast break capped the significant run. With 1:30 to go, Morgan Bamberger knocked down a triple to give the Dutchmen a nine-point lead at 47-38, and later, after Mealey's free throw, LVC went into the fourth with an eight-point lead at 48-40.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - Lehr stuffed the stat sheet, going for a career-high 27 points, including an 11-for-15 line from the charity stripe. She added four rebounds, four steals, and two assists in 39 minutes of action.
 - Mealey was also in double figures in points with 15 and she brought down a team-high six rebounds.
 - Kline added seven points and a game-high six steals.
 - Eck finished with five points.
 - The Mustangs were led by Jonyae Curry who scored 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a 7-of-9 line from the charity stripe.
 - The Dutchmen led in points off turnovers at 19-14.
 - LVC dominated in bench points at 28-9.
 - Points in the paint were even at 30-30.
 - The Dutchmen finished with eight fast-break points.
 
Who's Next?
LVC heads to Reading on Saturday to battle Albright at 1 p.m.
 
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