ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley women's basketball team scored 50 points in the paint and pulled down 51 rebounds in a dominant 75-36 victory over Centenary University on Saturday afternoon at Sorrentino Gymnasium in Annville.
 
The Dutchmen (5-2) got off to a slow start against the Cyclones (4-3) and didn't score for the first five minutes of the game. During that time, Centenary was able to put up seven points to take a 7-0 advantage. Brielle Reidinger put the Dutchmen on the board as Alexa Holcomb found her underneath the hoop following an offensive rebound. The Cyclones took advantage of a turnover a couple of possessions later for a fastbreak bucket before LVC scored the next six points. Riley Hevelow hit back-to-back jumpers off assists from Riley Hatzfeld and Abbie Reed. Hevelow then connected with Holcomb on a long outlet pass for an easy layup at the other end. The Cyclones stopped the run with an elbow jumper. Hatzfeld gave LVC its first lead as she knocked down a pair of free throws with a minute left in the quarter and then hit a jumper as the shot clock expired with seven seconds left.
 
LVC quickly grew the lead in the first two minutes of the second quarter as Hevelow knocked down a shot at the elbow, Hatzfeld scored on a driving layup, and then Reidinger grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball back up off the glass for two points. The defense kept up the pressure and forced three consecutive turnovers. The third turnover turned into a fastbreak bucket for the Dutchmen as Hevelow sent a long outlet pass up the court to Hatzfeld for an easy basket. The Dutchmen added three consecutive layups by Hevelow, Holcomb, and Reed to take a 26-11 lead and force the Cyclones to call a timeout with 5:12 left in the half. Centenary came out of the timeout and scored its first bucket of the quarter. LVC responded with baskets by Hevelow, Holcomb, Reed, and Hatzfeld over the next 2:30 to push the advantage to 21 points. Centenary scored twice over the final 1:30 of the half as Kailey Eckhart scored her first points of the game in the paint to make it a 36-17 LVC lead at the half.
 
The Dutchmen followed up an impressive second quarter with an even better third quarter as they outscored the Cyclones 23-4 during the first 10 minutes of the second half. LVC, which has outscored opponents in the third quarter during nearly every game this season, did not score in the first minute, but proceeded to score 10 points on five consecutive possessions. Eckhart backed her way to the rim on a pair of trips down the floor, Hevelow knocked down a jumper and scored on a driving layup, and Reidinger scored in transition off a pass from Hatzfeld. The Cyclones made their first bucket of the quarter off a turnover before Hatzfeld, Megan Albrecht, and Eckhart hit free throws to give LVC a 50-19 advantage with 3:13 on the clock. Eckhart and Hevelow sandwiched a Centenary bucket, and then Eckhart finished off a great 13-point quarter with a three-pointer and another layup.
 
The Cyclones scored six of the first seven points in the final quarter over the first two minutes. They were able to cut the deficit down to 60-27 before Reed stole the ball and sent a pass to Reidinger for a layup in transition. Centenary knocked down a pair of shots at the line before Eckhart drove to the hoop for two. Erin Ford scored her first career points as she stepped through two defenders for a layup, and then Ava Peel found her in transition for a jumper on the left side. Olivia Baldwin scored her first four points of the year in the final two minutes on a pair of layups, while Maddie Sellers added her first career points on a made free throw and a layup.
 
Inside the Box

• Eckhart scored 15 of her game-high and season-high 17 points in the second half. She was a rebound shy of a double-double as she pulled down two rebounds on the offensive glass and seven defensive rebounds.
• Hevelow shot 8-for-14 to finish with 16 points. The senior also had three rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
• Reidinger recorded another strong double-double of 10 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. She pulled down eight of her rebounds on the offensive end. The senior has now recorded at least 15 rebounds in four games this season and is closing in on 800 career rebounds.
• Hatzfeld had a strong game with 11 points, three steals, three assists, and two rebounds.
• Holcomb pulled down eight rebounds, had three assists, and scored five points in 17 minutes off the bench.
• The Dutchmen scored 50 points in the paint and had 21 points off 20 Centenary turnovers. LVC recorded a season-high 19 offensive rebounds and scored 16 second-chance points.
• Lebanon Valley made a season-high 33 field goals and shot a season-best 43.4% from the floor. Their 15 assists and 13 steals were also season-highs.
• The Dutchmen improved to 4-0 all-time against the Cyclones, including blowout wins in the past two seasons.

Up Next
LVC will be off for Finals Week before returning to action next Saturday, Dec. 13, with a trip to Bethlehem to face Moravian University. Tip-off against the Greyhounds is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Johnston Hall.

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