No. 8 Messiah 75, Lebanon Valley 58
 
LVC Starters
Lehr, Eck, Bamberger, Scarff, Venezia
 
Messiah Starters
Eckley, Thornton, Smoluk, Zimmerman, Rohrer
 
How It Happened
Lebanon Valley pushed No. 8 Messiah for three quarters before running out of gas in a 75-58 loss to one of the top teams in the nation at Sorrentino Gymnasium on Wednesday night, Jan. 16.
 
The Flying Dutchmen (9-8, 5-3 MAC Commonwealth) were led by Anne Lehr's game-high 25 points, while Emily Mealey added 16 points and six rebounds off the bench. Jen Eck chipped in with seven points and seven boards.
 
The game was tight throughout the first half, with the teams trading the lead three times in the first quarter and 10 times in the second period. The back-and-forth affair saw the Falcons (16-1, 8-0 MAC Commonwealth) hold a slim 18-17 advantage after the first quarter before an offensive-minded second stanza ended with the visitors up 38-35 heading into the break. Lehr was stellar in the first 20 minutes, pouring in 21 of her 25 tallies in the first half on 8-of-11 shooting from the field.
 
A jumper in the lane by Mealey cut the deficit to 47-45 at the 4:51 mark of the third quarter but Messiah started to stretch out the advantage when it put together an 8-0 run to end the period. The Dutchmen stayed within striking distance well into the fourth quarter, with a pair of free throws from Eck cutting the Falcons' lead to nine with 4:40 left.
 
From there, the visitors methodically increased the lead to double digits in the final minutes, allowing Messiah to hold off a game LVC team down the stretch.
 
Inside the Numbers
- Messiah shot 54.4 percent from the field, while the Dutchmen shot 48.9 percent from the floor.
- The Falcons won the rebounding battle 32-24.
- LVC was unable to knock down any of the team's seven attempted 3-pointers.
- Lebanon Valley's bench outscored the Messiah reserves 20-15.
- Anne Lehr racked up a game-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 shooting from the foul line.
- Emily Mealey netted 16 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench.
- Jen Eck finished with seven points, five boards, and a pair of assists.
- Ashley Kline pulled down seven rebounds in a reserve role.
- Aley Abate impressed in scoring four points and grabbing three boards in 15 minutes of work.
- Alicia Rohrer scored 23 points and corralled 17 rebounds to lead Messiah.
 
Who's Next?
LVC hosts MAC Commonwealth rival Albright for the program's annual Pink Game on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 19.

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