MADISON, N.J. – The Lebanon Valley women's basketball team outscored host FDU-Florham 39-27 in the second half to earn an important Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom road win on Wednesday evening as they defeated the Devils 64-48 at the Ferguson Recreation Center in Madison, N.J.
 
The Dutchmen (12-4, 3-2 MAC Freedom) got off to a slow start offensively against the Devils (7-9, 0-4 MAC Freedom). The hosts made a three-pointer to open the scoring. Abbie Reed drove the right side for a wide-open layup following an offensive rebound by Alexa Holcomb. The Devils scored the next six points to take a 9-2 lead and force the Dutchmen to call the first timeout of the game with 6:49 on the clock. Holcomb grabbed another offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer from Riley Hevelow and then found Hevelow streaking to the rim for a layup. Reed made it a three-point game with a layup on the left side off a nice pass from Holcomb.
 
The Devils stopped the run with a bucket in the paint before Holcomb answered right back with a drive through the paint and bucket while being fouled. She drained the shot at the line to cut the deficit to two. FDU-Florham answered with a three-pointer to go up 14-9. Kailey Eckhart made a pair of shots at the line before the Devils got out in transition with a layup. Reed found Hevelow open in the corner for a three-pointer, and Holcomb tied the game with a layup off a pass from Erika Badner in the final minute of the quarter. A last-second shot by the Devils was off the mark, and Badner grabbed the rebound to keep the game tied after one.
 
FDU-Florham scored first to begin the second quarter on a pull-up jumper right outside the paint. LVC then held the hosts scoreless over the next seven minutes. Brielle Reidinger tied the game with a bucket in the paint. Hevelow gave the Dutchmen their first lead of the night as Reed found her in transition for a layup with 7:18 on the clock.
 
The teams traded missed shots and turnovers over the next five minutes as FDU-Florham evened the score at 20 on a layup with 2:11 to go in the half. Hevelow drove to the hoop for a driving layup with around a minute left to put LVC up by two. The Devils made one of two free throws before Badner gave LVC momentum into the break as she swished a three-pointer on the right wing off a pass from Reed.
 
It took the Dutchmen offense a little bit to get going in the second half as the Devils started the third quarter with a steal and a bucket. Reidinger made a free throw and then made the first of six layups for the Dutchmen in the quarter. FDU used a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to retake the lead at 29-28. The Dutchmen answered right back as Hevelow found Reidinger underneath the basket, and then Reed assisted an Adrianna Stricek bucket down low.
 
The Devils scored to cut the lead to one before Eckhart knocked down a huge three-pointer on the right wing off a pass from Reed. FDU made a pair of free throws to make it 35-33 with 2:21 left in the quarter. The Dutchmen finished the quarter strong, scoring six points on a layup by Reed and back-to-back layups from Eckhart. Holcomb had a pair of assists during the run while Megan Albrecht blocked a shot and then found Eckhart for the final points of the quarter in the final minute to push the advantage to eight.
 
Albrecht found Eckhart in the paint on the first possession of the fourth quarter as LVC went up 43-33. The Devils made a free throw before Reed scored on a layup off a pass from Hevelow. Reidinger scored a pair of layups to give the Dutchmen a 49-36 advantage with eight minutes to go in the game. FDU made a traditional three-point play to get the deficit down to 10. Hevleow knocked down a pull-up jumper along the baseline, and the Devils countered with a jumper and three-pointer to get the lead down to seven at 51-44 with six minutes on the clock.
 
The Dutchmen came out of a timeout and didn't allow the Devils to score over the next three possessions. Meanwhile, on offense, Hevelow scored on all three trips down the floor to push the lead back up to 13. The Devils ended their scoreless drought with a basket in the paint before Hevleow hit a pull-up jumper just outside the paint. Stricek made a couple of shots at the line to make it a 15-point advantage. The Devils scored their final two points on the night in transition off a steal and bucket with two minutes to play. Hevelow made a shot at the line, and Ava Peel scored the set, setting the final score.
 
Inside the Box

• LVC broke open the game in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Devils 23-15 over the final 10 minutes.
• Hevelow scored 20 points to lead all scorers. She also pulled down five rebounds and dished out three assists. The guard made nine of 17 shots from the field.
• Reidinger recorded another double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. She had six rebounds on the offensive glass.
• Holcomb had a strong game with a career-high 13 rebounds, including seven offensive boards, six assists, five points, and three blocks.
• Eckhart just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
• Reed added eight points, six rebounds, and six assists.
• Albrecht pulled down two rebounds, dished out three assists, and was a team-best +20 when she was on the court.
• Stricek scored four points and had two rebounds, while Badner made a three-pointer and Peel scored two points.
• The Dutchmen had a huge rebounding advantage at 53-30. They scored 14 second-chance points off 20 offensive rebounds.
• LVC scored 40 points in the paint and had 19 assists on 27 made field goals.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will be back inside Sorrentino Gymnasium for Hot Dog Frank Day on Saturday. LVC will take on Delaware Valley University at 1 p.m. in Annville.

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