ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley women's basketball team will look to win the program's first conference title in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) this week after qualifying for the Championship as the third seed. LVC will head to second-seeded Arcadia University on Wednesday evening for the semifinals.
 
The Dutchmen are 15-10 this year and went 9-5 in their first season as members of the MAX Freedom. Arcadia is 21-4 overall and went 10-4 in conference play. Top-seeded DeSales University will play fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology in the other semifinal pairing at Billera Hall in Center Valley on Wednesday in a rematch of last year's conference title game. The Bulldogs swept through conference play at 16-0 winning all but two games by 20 or more points. Stevens is 14-11 overall and 9-5 in conference play. The winners of the semifinals will meet on Saturday at the site of the higher seed for the championship and the automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
 
The Dutchmen split their two meetings with the Knights, dropping a 67-46 decision a month ago in Sorrentino Gymnasium and then spoiled Arcadia's Senior Day on Saturday with a 76-50 victory. LVC also split with Stevens as they won on the road 64-60 in overtime to start conference play and then dropped a tough 55-51 decision in Annville last month. The Dutchmen were the only team in the conference to be defeated by under 20 points to DeSales falling 53-37 in Center Valley and then 63-47 on Senior Day in Sorrentino Gymnasium.
 
Ticket prices for each match are set by the MAC office and are as follows:
Adults - $8
Seniors (65+) - $6
Youth (7-17) - $6
MAC Students w/ ID - Free
6 and under w/ adult – Free
 
Kate Fitzpatrick is second in the conference in scoring this year with 17.6 points per game. The senior guard has 439 points, 94 rebounds, 42 assists, 23 steals, and 11 blocks in 33.9 minutes per game. She had nine games of 20+ points this year including a career-high 30 against Delaware Valley. Riley Hevelow is second on the team with 11.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. The sophomore recorded 287 points, 114 rebounds, 36 assists, 22 steals, and four blocks in 34.2 minutes per game. Cristina Fernandez has done it all for the Dutchmen this year with 211 points (8.4 per game), 141 rebounds (5.6 per game), 79 assists, 36 steals, and 41 blocks in 33.1 minutes per game. The junior is fifth in the conference in assists, second in assist/turnover ratio, and third in blocks.
 
Brielle Reidinger is coming off two double-doubles last week and averages 7.8 points and 9.0 rebounds in 21 games this year. The sophomore forward has 172 points, 198 rebounds, 38 assists, 13 steals, and nine blocks in 25.1 minutes per game. She is fourth in the conference in rebounding. Samya Santiague has played in 24 games and averages 27.7 minutes per game. The senior guard has recorded 98 points, 55 rebounds, 21 assists, 17 steals, and three blocks this year. Kailey Eckhart has been the first sub off the bench in most games and has 91 points, 69 rebounds, 16 assists, five steals, and seven blocks.
 
Abbie Reed and Jordan Zimmerman have also provided quality minutes off the bench for the Dutchmen this season. Reed has 44 points, 74 rebounds, 20 assists, 11 steals, and six blocks in 13.8 minutes per game. Zimmerman has averaged 11.7 minutes in 24 games and recorded 42 points, 46 rebounds, 18 assists, and five steals. Elise Balmer has played in 19 games and has 19 points, 15 rebounds, 14 assists, and three steals.
 
Alyssa Reisinger and Ashley Pleban have played in 10 games each. Reisinger has 21 points and nine rebounds in 4.8 minutes per game while Pleban has 12 points and five rebounds in 4.1 minutes per game. Allyson Babinsky has averaged 8.8 minutes in five games while scoring six points and pulling down six rebounds. Rachel Witkoski has seen action in four games while Ava Peel has played in two.
 
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