Lebanon Valley 73, Grove City 62

LVC Starters
Lehr, Evans, Bamberger, Scarff, Mealey

Grove City Starters
Bowen, Arkwright, Black, Balcom, Buchanan

How It Happened
GROVE CITY, Pa. – Four players were in double-figures in points to lead Lebanon Valley's women's basketball team to a 73-62 win over Grove City in the First Round of the 2018 Division III ECAC Tournament. The Dutchmen, who advanced to the second round, jumped to 15-12, while the Wolverines' season ended at 18-10.

LVC got off to a hot start this evening, jumping out to an 11-4 lead with 7:13 left in the first. A few minutes later, With the Dutchmen out in front at 13-8, LVC scored six consecutive points, capped by Anne Lehr's jumper, to increase its lead to 19-8. A 7-2 spurt by Grove City cut the Dutchmen's advantage to six at 21-15 with 1:09 to go, but LVC ended the opening quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 10-point lead into the second quarter.

Early on in the second, the Wolverines cut the Dutchmen's lead to single digits at 27-19 with 9:24 remaining, but Veronica Venezia countered with a jumper to put LVC ahead by double-digits, and for the rest of the second, the Dutchmen maintained their double-digit advantage and led by as many as 19 points, en route to a 46-31 lead going into halftime.

Coming out of halftime, LVC maintained its high level of play and continued to lead by more than nine points. With 2:30 left in the third, Grove City cut the Dutchmen's led to 12 at 53-41, but Emily Mealey's layup with 36 seconds left put LVC ahead 55-41 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth, with the Dutchmen up 65-51 with 4:12 remaining, the Wolverines went on a 7-0 run and trailed by just seven at 65-58 with 2:21 left. In the final 2:06, Grove City was forced to commit fouls, but LVC responded in a big way and made 6-of-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch, including four from Becky Evans and a pair from Mealey, to win the game 73-62.

Inside the Numbers
 - Evans paced the offense, finishing with a team-high 20 points, including a 6-for-8 mark from the free throw line. She added four assists, four rebounds, and a pair of steals.
 - Mealey tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double.
 - Caroline Scarff netted 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
 - Anne Lehr chipped in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, to go along with five assists and three steals.
 - Venezia finished with eight points and three boards.
 - Grove City's Kate Balcom netted a game-high 22 points.
 - The Wolverines' Lexie Arkwright score 18 points.
 - LVC held the edge in shooting percentage at 52.8 to 40.6-percent.
 - The Dutchmen held the overwhelming edge in points off turnovers at 27-6.

Who's Next?
LVC will now take on Misericordia, who defeated Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.) 71-61 tonight, in the Second Round of the 2018 Division III ECAC Tournament at Washington & Jefferson on Friday at 2 p.m. These two teams met back on Nov. 15 in the Dutchmen's season-opener when LVC came away with a 64-59 victory.

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