Eastern 59, Lebanon Valley 56
 
LVC Starters
Kintzer, White, Bamberger, Kuffa, Mealey
 
Eastern Starters
Brown, Shmidt, Kneis, Glenn, Harris
 
How It Happened
ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley women's basketball team dropped their season-opener in the final seconds when Eastern's Jaelyn Harris hit a jumper with just three ticks left on the clock to help down the Dutchmen 59-56 on Friday evening.
 
The opening quarter was a sloppy one for both sides as the two teams combined to commit 15 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of action. Jaelyn Harris led the charge offensively for Eastern as she nailed three deep-balls and finished the period with 11 points as the Eagles held a small 17-13 advantage after the opening period.
 
Midway through the second quarter, Eastern built up a seven-point advantage following Harris' fourth three-pointer of the half but LVC would respond by holding the Eagles scoreless for the next two minutes while the Dutchmen crawled their way back into the game. Eastern would get a late bucket to push the lead back out to seven into halftime.
 
The third quarter was dominated by LVC as they outscore the Eagles 17-10 in the period thanks to a trio of three-pointers by Morgan Bamberger. The Dutchmen closed the period out on a 9-2 run to pull the game even, 42-42, headed into the final quarter.
 
The fourth quarter would go back-and-forth throughout with the Dutchmen taking a 53-52 lead with 3:26 left in regulation. LVC later trailed by a pair before Emily Mealey hit a layup with just over a minute to play to tie the score at 56. After a pair of empty trips for both teams, Harris would knock down a mid-range jumper with just three seconds to play to give the Eagles a two-point lead and that would be enough to down the Dutchmen in their season-opener, 59-56.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Emily Mealey led LVC offensively with a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds.
• Morgan Bamberger recorded 14 points while knocking down four three-pointers.
• Kennedy Kuffa tallied 12 points and eight boards in her debut.
• Jaelyn Harris led Eastern with 19 points while hitting five three-point shots.
• LVC struggled from the free throw line, as they shot just 11-26 on the evening.
• The two teams combined for 38 turnovers, 22 for LVC and 16 for Eastern.

 
Who's Next?
The Dutchmen return to action on Wednesday night when LVC hosts Elizabethtown College for a non-conference showdown. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Sorrentino Gymnasium.

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