No. 7 Messiah 57, Lebanon Valley 49
 
LVC Starters
Lehr, Eck, Bamberger, Scarff, Mealey
 
Messiah Starters
Eckley, Thornton, Isaac, Smoluk, Rohrer
 
How It Happened
GRANTHAM, Pa. – Lebanon Valley battled No. 7 Messiah, but dropped a narrow 57-49 contest to the Falcons on Thursday evening in MAC Commonwealth women's basketball action. The Dutchmen fell to 12-12, 8-7 MAC Commonwealth and Messiah jumped to 24-1, 16-0 MAC Commonwealth.
 
After leading 29-26 at the start of the third quarter, the Dutchmen were in prime position to hang with the nation's No. 7 team for the game's entirety. The third quarter featured back-and-forth action, as neither team led by more than three points for the whole 10 minutes of action. With 5:38 to go in the third, Jen Eck made a layup to give LVC a narrow 33-32 advantage. Messiah then answered with a jumper, but Anne Lehr knocked down a jumper to put the Dutchmen back on top. Then, with the Falcons ahead by three, Eck hit two consecutive free throws, followed by a triple with 26 ticks left in the third to give LVC a two-point lead at 40-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
To begin the fourth, Messiah's Maci Thornton hit a 3-pointer to put the home team up 41-40. Thornton followed it up with another triple on the Falcons' ensuing possession to extend their lead to four points, and after Kirsten Smoluk made it a six-point lead for the home team, Caroline Scarff stopped the bleeding with a layup with 5:31 left. Then, with 3:19 to go, Morgan Bamberger dropped a huge 3-pointer, bringing the visiting Dutchmen to within two at 48-46 with 3:19 to go. After a jumper and two straight free throws by the Falcons, Bamberger hit another triple with 1:09 remaining to bring the Dutchmen back to within three at 52-49. Unfortunately for LVC, Messiah made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Dutchmen and come away with a narrow 57-49 win.
 
In the opening quarter, LVC opened up a 10-5 lead capped by Veronica Venezia's jumper. The Falcons battled back though and tied things up at 10-10 with 2:15 left, but Scarff answered with a layup, followed by Emily Mealey's two free throws that gave LVC a 14-10 advantage heading into the second. In the second quarter, LVC maintained a narrow lead until the Falcons knotted the game at 24-24 after Thornton's layup. The Dutchmen answered in a big way, a 5-0 spurt, to take a 29-24 advantage with 1:21 left in the second. Alecia Rohrer scored on a layup with 29 seconds left, however, but LVC still took a lead at 29-26 into halftime.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - Lehr ended with a team-high 17 points, including 13 in the first half. She added five rebounds and four assists.
 - Mealey and Eck chipped in seven points apiece. Mealey added nine rebounds.
 - Bamberger and Scarff had six points each for the Dutchmen.
 - Messiah was led by Thornton who scored a game-high 19 points.
 - The Falcons' Smoluk added 11 points.
 - LVC's defense was impressive throughout and held Messiah to just a 30.2 shooting percentage.
 - Bench points were even at 6-6.
 - The Dutchmen dominated in points in the paint at 28-16.
 - The lead in tonight's game changed 12 times.
 
Playoff Picture
After Arcadia's win at Widener earlier this week, LVC clinched a spot in next week's MAC Commonwealth Championship Tournament. Messiah and Lycoming are locked into the top-two seeds, respectively, while the final three seeds are yet to be determined.
 
Who's Next?
The Dutchmen finish off their 2018-19 regular season on Saturday when LVC hosts Lycoming on Senior Day at 1 p.m.
 
Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC athletics.