ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley women's basketball held visiting DeSales University to shooting just 25.0 percent from the field in a tough 46-33 defeat on Wednesday evening at Sorrentino Gymnasium in a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom contest.
 
The Dutchmen (11-3, 2-1 MAC Freedom) struggled offensively all night against the Bulldogs (9-5, 3-0 MAC Freedom) in a defensive battle. Neither team was able to score for the first two minutes of the game as LVC forced three missed shots on the defensive end, but were unable to capitalize with any offense. DeSales scored in transition for the first points of the game. Kailey Eckhart evened the score with two made free throw attempts after being fouled while driving to the rim. The Bulldogs responded with a 7-2 run over the next two minutes to take a 9-4 advantage.
 
Brielle Reidinger knocked down a turnaround jumper in the paint for the Dutchmen. The teams traded missed jumpers and turnovers for the next two minutes until the Bulldogs scored on a layup. Eckhart was fouled while shooting at the other end of the court and knocked down both shots to get the score to 11-6 with 2:41 on the clock. Neither team scored again until Riley Hevelow got out in transition and found Adrianna Stricek open under the rim with six seconds left to cut the deficit to three points after one.
 
DeSales opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run over the first three minutes. Hevelow stopped the run with a pull-up jumper just inside the foul line. Reidinger knocked down the front end of two free throws with 5:33 on the clock to bring the deficit back down to six. LVC kept the defensive pressure up and didn't allow the Bulldogs to score for a five-minute stretch after their run to open the quarter.
 
Reidinger hit Stricek for a layup under the hoop with 3:18 left to make it 17-13. The Bulldogs made a free throw to push the lead to five before Reidinger scored twice over the final 2:35 to make it a one-point game at halftime. Abbie Reed found Reidinger in transition off the made DSU free throw, and then Reidinger pulled up at the elbow with just under a minute to go in the half.
 
The Dutchmen came out of the break and took their only lead of the game as Eckhart knocked down a three-pointer on the left wing off a pass from Erika Badner. The Bulldogs responded with a pair of buckets in the paint to retake the lead. LVC went scoreless for a five-minute stretch after the Eckhart three and DeSales took advantage, adding a three-pointer and a layup to push the lead to 27-20. Eckhart drove to the hoop with a layup on the right side to end the scoreless drought. The Bulldogs added three buckets in the paint over the final three minutes of the quarter and held the Dutchmen off the scoreboard to take a 33-22 advantage after three quarters.
 
The Bulldogs started the scoring in the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws. Eckhart knocked down a three-pointer on the right wing off a feed from Alexa Holcomb. Hevelow got the deficit down to eight as she hit a jumper just outside the paint with 7:36 to play. The Bulldogs hit one of two shots at the line before Stricek found Reed open just inside the three-point line on the right side for a jumper.
 
The Bulldogs countered with two buckets in the paint to go up 40-29 with just under four minutes to play. The score remained that way until Reidinger hit a pair of free throws with 2:32 on the clock. DSU made three of four shots at the line before Stricek made the last field goal of the game on a layup with just under a minute left off a pass from Reed. The Bulldogs made three shots at the line over the final minute to set the final score.
 
Inside the Box

• Reidinger was just shy of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. The senior pulled down two boards on the offensive glass and blocked two shots.
• Eckhart was LVC's leading scorer with 12 points and seven rebounds. The senior scored eight of her points in the second half and knocked down two three-pointers.
• Stricek scored six points and had two rebounds. She has scored at least five points in each of the past four games.
• Hevelow had five rebounds and four points. Megan Albrecht pulled down five rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
• Reed finished with two points, four rebounds, two blocks, and two assists.
• The Dutchmen shot a season-low 27.3 percent from the field.

Up Next
LVC will look to rebound on Saturday as they travel to Glenside to face Arcadia University in another important conference battle. Tipoff at Alumni Gymnasium is scheduled for 1 p.m. against the Knights.

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