UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – Brielle Reidinger was a rebound shy of a double-double, and Kailey Eckhart scored 10 points to lead the Lebanon Valley women's basketball team in the season opener against Wheaton College (Ill.) on Friday evening at the Winking Lizard Tip-Off Tournament on the campus of John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. The Thunder used a strong first quarter to defeat the Dutchmen 59-47.
 
Eckhart started the game with a steal, and Redinger scored in the paint to give LVC the first two points of the game. The Thunder scored the next four points before Riley Hevelow scored on a step-back jumper. Wheaton hit a pair of three-pointers on their next two possessions to go up by six. Abbie Reed knocked down a jumper before the Thunder scored the next eight points on a pair of threes and a two over a span of three minutes. Reed ended LVC's scoring drought with a free throw and then a layup as Eckhart found her open on a beautiful backdoor cut. Wheaton ended the quarter strong with two layups and a three to take a 25-9 lead.
 
Megan Albrecht scored her first collegiate point with a free throw to begin the scoring in the second quarter. The Thunder knocked down two more threes to increase their advantage. Hevelow scored in transition after Reidinger blocked a three and grabbed the rebound at the other end of the court. Reidinger then cut the deficit to 31-14 with a jumper in the paint after Albrecht and Reed grabbed offensive rebounds. The Thunder answered with the next eight points to take their biggest lead of the half at 39-14. Albrecht ended a nearly six-minute stretch without a point by LVC with a free throw. Hevelow then cut the deficit to 22 points with a driving layup with 30 seconds left. The Dutchmen did not allow the Thunder to get a shot off on the final possession of the half.
 
LVC had a strong second half, starting with a big third quarter. Riley Hatzfeld found Eckhart open for a layup to begin the scoring. The Thunder scored the next five points over a two-minute span. The Dutchmen called a timeout with just over seven minutes to play in the quarter. The team came out of the timeout on a mission as Reidinger blocked a layup and grabbed the rebound. The senior grabbed an offensive rebound at the other end and scored on a putback. She continued the run with another defensive rebound. Eckhart scored down low off a feed from Hevelow, and then Reidinger put back another offensive rebound. Hatzfeld sandwiched a Thunder bucket with a jumper and a driving layup to get the deficit down to 17 at 46-29. Albrecht knocked down a three with a little over two minutes on the clock to force Wheaton to call a timeout. The Thunder were able to score the next three points before Hatzfeld ended the scoring in the quarter with a jumper.
 
The teams traded buckets to begin the fourth quarter, with the Thunder scoring first. Reed found Reidinger in the paint for a layup. After a Wheaton bucket, Reidinger knocked down two free throws. Eckhart scored on a layup, and then Reed hit a three off a pass from Albrecht to make it a 10-point game with just under five minutes left. The Thunder scored on a layup before Eckhart got the advantage to single digits at 55-47 with a pair of layups. Wheaton held the Dutchmen scoreless over the final two minutes and hit a pair of jumpers to set the final score.
 
Inside the Box

• Reidinger scored a team-high 12 points on 5-8 from the floor and 2-3 at the line. The senior grabbed nine rebounds including four on the offensive glass. She also blocked two shots, recorded a steal, and dished out an assist.
• Eckhart was also 5-8 from the floor to score 10 points. The senior grabbed five rebounds, dished out an assist, and had one steal.
• Reed scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds with two assists while playing all 40 minutes.
• Hevelow and Hatzfeld added six points each. Hevelow grabbed seven rebounds and dished out an assist.
• Albrecht scored five points and had three rebounds.
• LVC outscored the Thunder 30-20 in the second half, including 17-10 in the third quarter.
• The Dutchmen scored 13 second-chance points, 26 points in the paint, and 13 points off 10 Wheaton turnovers.
• LVC had a 32-26 rebounding advantage with 10 offensive rebounds.

Up Next
Lebanon Valley will be back in action at 12 p.m. tomorrow, as they take on Alma College on the second day of action at John Carroll. Alma dropped a 97-56 decision to the host Blue Streaks in the opening game on Friday.

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