ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley Women's Basketball team won the program's first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Regular Season Championship on Saturday afternoon with a big 73-55 victory over Arcadia University inside Sorrentino Gymnasium. The win enables the Dutchmen to earn the top seed and home-court advantage throughout next week's MAC Freedom Championships.
 
The Dutchmen (19-6, 12-2 MAC Freedom) never trailed in the regular season finale against the Knights (17-8, 11-3 MAC Freedom). Brielle Reidinger won the opening tip and then scored in the paint off a feed from Jordan Zimmerman. After forcing a turnover, Zimmerman found Cristina Fernandez open for a jumper. The lead extended to six as Abbie Reed scored on a driving layup after a Zimmerman steal. The Knights got on the board with a layup and three before the teams traded scoreless possessions. Layups by Reidinger and Kailey Eckhart increased the lead to 10-5 with four minutes to go in the opening quarter. Arcadia was able to tie the game up with a layup and a three pointer. The tie was short-lived as Riley Hevelow knocked down a jumper and knocked down a pair of free throws to put LVC back ahead. The Knights cut the lead in half with a minute left before Reidinger and Hevelow scored in the final minute to give LVC an 18-12 lead.
 
Arcadia scored on the first possession of the second quarter before Alexa Holcomb scored off a great pass from Fernandez. Holcomb then found Fernandez open at the top of the key for a three to make it 23-14. A pair of buckets from the Knights cut the lead to five with just under seven minutes on the clock. The teams traded scores before going a full three minutes without a point. LVC ended the drought with a pair of buckets by Hevelow. Fernandez scored on a driving layup and then found Reidinger underneath for two points to give the Dutchmen a 33-20 advantage at halftime.
 
Neither team scored for the first three minutes of the third quarter until Reidinger hit the second of two free throw attempts. Fernandez knocked down another three to give the Dutchmen a 17-point lead at 37-20 before Arcadia scored its first points in almost 10 full clock minutes on a pair of free throws. The Knights were able to get the deficit down to 12 before a layup by Eckhart off an offensive rebound gave LVC a 39-25 advantage midway through the quarter. Reed had a pair of layups and then Fernandez knocked down two foul shots to push the lead to 45-27. Arcadia knocked down a three and then scored on a driving layup. Zimmerman found Reed open for a big three to stop the run and then Hevelow knocked down a dagger three-pointer with 1:26 remaining to push the lead to 51-32. The Knights were able to cut the deficit to 17 points over the final minute.
 
Arcadia scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and held the Dutchmen scoreless for the first 2:30. Fernandez got out in transition and was fouled while shooting before hitting two shots at the line to put the Dutchmen on the board. Arcadia had a pair of jumpers to get within 11 with 5:49 left but LVC answered with a layup from Eckhart while being fouled to push the lead to 57-44. Hevelow hit a jumper to make it a 15-point game with under five to play. The lead was 14 when Hevelow scored on a step back with three minutes on the clock. The Knights were able to cut the lead to 12 with two minutes remaining but LVC made seven of eight free throw attempts to increase the lead to 71-52 in the final minute. Reidinger scored a layup before the Knights ended the game with a three.
 
Inside the Box

• The Dutchmen were great defensively holding the three-point shooting Knights to just 22.7 percent on 5-22 from beyond the arch.
• Reidinger had a huge game in the paint recording a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds. The junior also blocked six shots and dished out three assists.
• Hevelow led all scorers with 23 points including eight points at the line. The junior also pulled down three rebounds.
• Fernandez had a great game on her Senior Day with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
• Reed scored in double figures with11 points while Eckhart added six points in 12 minutes off the bench.
• Zimmerman pulled down eight rebounds, dished out four assists, and scored two points on her Senior Day.
• The Dutchmen blocked 10 shots and forced 10 turnovers. LVC scored 15 points off turnovers and had 28 points in the paint while shooting 41.9 percent from the field.
• The win clinches the top seed in the conference tournament and home-court advantage.

Up Next
Top-seeded Lebanon Valley will host fourth-seeded DeSales University on Wednesday evening inside Sorrentino Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. against the Bulldogs. Second-seeded Arcadia will host third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology at 7 p.m. in the other semifinal pairing.

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