ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley Women's Basketball team extended its winning streak to five games with a dominating 59-33 victory over King's College on Tuesday evening at Sorrentino Gymnasium in Annville.

The Dutchmen (18-6, 11-2 MAC Freedom) led from start to finish scoring on the first three possessions of the game. Riley Hevelow scored off a pass from Cristina Fernandez after the Dutchmen won the opening tip. Hevelow scored again with a step-back jumper before Jordan Zimmerman scored off an assist from Kailey Eckhart. The Dutchmen increased the lead to 8-0 on a pair of Eckhart foul shots a little over two minutes in. The Monarchs got on the board with a pair of buckets in the paint. LVC responded with another quick 7-0 run as Fernandez and a jumper and a three-pointer while Brielle Reidinger put back an offensive rebound. The lead was still 11 when Fernandez scored with two minutes left to give LVC a 19-6 advantage. Neither team was able to score the rest of the quarter.

The Monarchs scored first in the second quarter on a driving layup a little over a minute in. Eckhart answered right back at the other end with a driving layup. After another bucket in the paint by the Monarchs, the Dutchmen held King's scoreless the rest of the half while building a 24-point lead. Zimmerman started the run with a steal and bucket. Reidinger and Hevelow scored layups on three consecutive possessions. The Dutchmen got out in transition off a defensive rebound by Eckhart as Elise Balmer ran the court and scored underneath off a pass by Eckhart. Fernandez rounded out the scoring with a bucket in the final minute to make it 34-10 at the half.

The defensive pressure continued into the third quarter as neither team scored for the first two minutes. The Monarchs hit a pair of free throws and then Reidinger scored in the paint. The junior the blocked a shot at the other end and Hevelow scored in transition to push the advantage to 26 points. Eckhart scored off a feed from Zimmerman to put the Dutchmen up 42-14 with 5:21 on the clock. The teams traded buckets before Reidinger gave LVC a 30-point advantage with a fastbreak jumper in the paint. After a pair of free throws for the Monarchs, Abbie Reed had a steal and bucket. She then found Balmer cutting to the hoop for a layup and Rachel Witkoski ended the quarter with a three-pointer to extend the lead to 53-18 after three.

King's scored first in the fourth quarter but the Dutchmen answered right back with a Hevelow jumper. The Monarchs cut into the lead with a pair of threes that sandwiched a Balmer bucket. After the teams traded scores, LVC led 59-28 with just under six minute to go. Neither team scored until a pair of free throws for the Monarchs with four minutes left. King's then hit a three with 1:44 remaining for the final points of the game.

Inside the Box

• Hevelow was the leading scorer in the game with 15 points on 7-12 shooting from the field and a free throw. The junior also grabbed three defensive rebounds.
• Reidinger posted her third consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She had four rebounds on the offensive glass and blocked a shot.
• Fernandez was 5-8 from the field with a three for 11 points. The guard also blocked three shots.
• Eckhart had a strong game with eight points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
• Balmer added six points and four rebounds while Zimmerman had four points and four rebounds.
• The Dutchmen played all 15 players in the game and had eight different scorers in the game.
• LVC shot 40.3 percent from the field and were a perfect 3-3 at the line.
• The Dutchmen held King's to 21.4 shooting including 18.8 percent on threes.
• LVC had a 47-34 rebounding advantage, scored 30 points in the paint, and had eight second chance points off 12 offensive rebounds.
• The win moved the Dutchmen into sole possession of first place in the conference standings with one game left in the regular season. LVC is a half-game ahead of Arcadia, who will play FDU-Florham tomorrow. Stevens is a game back in third place at 10-3.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will play for the MAC Freedom Regular Season Title and top seed in the conference tournament on Saturday as they host Arcadia for Senior Day at Sorrentino Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Annville against the Knights. The Dutchmen won the first meeting between the teams in Glenside 69-56.

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