GLENSIDE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley Women's Basketball team used a balanced team effort and great defense to defeat Arcadia University 69-56 on Saturday afternoon at the Alumni Gymnasium in Glenside.
 
The Dutchmen (12-5, 5-1 MAC Freedom) took sole possession of first place in the conference standings with the win over the Knights (10-7, 4-2 MAC Freedom). LVC came out strong defensively as they forced turnovers on Arcadia's first four possessions. Abbie Reed scored the first points of the game as she intercepted a pass and cruised in for an easy layup. Brielle Reidinger put the Dutchmen up 4-0 with a turnaround jumper. The Knights got on the board with a pair of free throws before Kailey Eckhart scored in the paint. Arcadia made its first field goal of the game nearly four minutes in and used a 5-0 run to take a 7-6 lead. Eckhart had a steal and knocked down a three to put LVC back in front, but the Knights responded with a three at the other end and then add seven more points to take a 17-9 advantage with under a minute to play in the quarter. Reidinger knocked down a pair of free throws to stop the run, but the Knights scored on a layup to take a 19-11 lead after the first 10 minutes.
 
The second quarter began like the first with the Dutchmen locking down on defense and holding the Knights without a point for almost the first three minutes. Cristina Fernandez found Eckhart open for a three and then Reed knocked down a jumper off an offensive rebound to get LVC within three. The teams traded layups, and Eckhart tied the game by knocking down a three midway through the quarter. After another stop on the defensive end, Reed was fouled and hit both free throws to give the Dutchmen the lead. The Knights were able score on a short jumper to tie the game back up at 23 before the teams traded threes. Reidinger put back a rebound on the offensive glass and then Arcadia scored on a three to go up 29-28 with 2:30 on the clock. The game was scoreless over the next two minutes until Elise Balmer found Jordan Zimmerman in the paint for a layup with eight seconds left. The Knights pushed the ball up court and knocked down a three as time expired to take a 32-30 lead into the break.
 
The teams traded scores to open the second half with the Dutchmen striking first on an Eckhart layup. The Knights used a pair of threes to take a three-point lead at 39-36. Fernandez evened the score with a corner three off a great pass by Alexa Holcomb. The Dutchmen defense held the Knights scoreless for a span of almost four minutes and got layups from Reidinger, Fernandez, and Reed to go up 45-39. Arcadia briefly stalled the run with a made free throw before Zimmerman found Balmer in the paint for a bucket and then Fernandez jumped in front of a pass and went the distance for a fastbreak layup. The Knights responded with a jumper to close out the scoring in the quarter as LVC took a 47-42 lead.
 
Arcadia started the fourth with a driving layup and the Dutchmen answered with a mid-range jumper from Fernandez. The lead was still at seven when Arcadia's leading scorer, Hanna Rhoades was able to score five quick points in a span of two possessions to get the Knights within two at 53-51. Reidinger knocked down a jumper in the paint and then blocked a layup at the other end to stop the momentum shift. Arcadia was able to make one of two free throws and had the ball with a chance to tie. However, Fernandez blocked a driving layup and then scored at the other end to extend the lead to five with six minutes left. Neither team was able to score for the next two minutes until Eckhart scored in the post for the Dutchmen.
 
Arcadia managed to keep the game close, and the deficit was five at 61-56 with three minutes to play. The Dutchmen defense held the Knights off the board the rest of the way. Offensively, Reidinger and Reed had layups to extend the advantage to double digits with a minute left. Reed finished off the game with a pair of free throws.
 
Inside the Box

• The Dutchmen won by double digits for the fifth straight game and had four scorers in double figures.
• Reidinger had another strong game with her third straight double-double. The junior scored a team-high 18 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. She also blocked three shots and dished out two assists.
• Reed recorded her first double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She was 4-7 from the floor and made all four of her free throw attempts. The sophomore added three steals.
• Fernandez added 16 points and two rebounds while staring on the defensive end of the court with three blocks and two steals.
• Eckhart was the fourth scorer in double figures with 16 points while shooting 3-4 on three pointers. The junior grabbed three rebounds, dished out three assists, and had four steals.
• Zimmerman and Balmer added four points each.
• LVC was one shy of the program record with 11 blocked shots. Six different Dutchmen had at least one block.
• The Dutchmen shot 50.9 percent from the floor and had 38 points in the paint. LVC scored 20 points off 16 Arcadia turnovers.

Up Next
Lebanon Valley will wrap up the first rotation of conference play on Wednesday with another road trip up I-81 to face King's College. Tip-off at Scandlon Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre.

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.