ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley College women's basketball team is eager to get back on the court and continue its run of postseason appearances in 2026-27. After three All-Conference players graduated from last year's team, the program will look for multiple returning student-athletes to step into new roles and expect its newcomers to make an impact. 

The Dutchmen enter the season ranked third out of nine teams in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll, after reaching the MAC Freedom Championship semifinal last winter. LVC finished the year with an 18-8 overall record and a 9-5 mark against conference opponents. 

"Even though there's a lot of learning that needs to be done with how young the team is, it's fun because it seems to be a very moldable team," Head Coach Julia Duggan said. "They're really excited to get the season kicked off. The biggest thing for us is to help the group learn and improve before we get to conference play." 

Riley Hevelow '26, D'28 (All-Region), Brielle Reidinger '26, D'28, and Kailey Eckhart '26 played key parts for LVC during All-MAC Freedom seasons in 2025-26, and the program will depend on several players to fill these spots. Senior guard Abbie Reed returns as a starter and is among the nine players coming back from last year's team. The Flying Dutchmen also expect sophomore guard Megan Albrecht to be a key contributor. Additionally, LVC will look to sophomore guard Riley Hatzfeld and junior guard Hailie Edwards to be impactful players after returning from injuries.  

Six new arrivals will mix with the returnees, including graduate student forward Hannah Custer, who played for the Division I University of Richmond's women's lacrosse team, where she was a three-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference honoree. She played basketball in high school and received several accolades, including a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 MVP award. The Dutchmen will also depend on first-year forwards Scarlett Baumgardner and Kenzie Eckhart, who is the sister of Kailey Eckhart. Baumgardner was an All-League selection in the Suburban One League, while Kenzie Eckhart earned Lancaster-Lebanon League All-Section recognition and was a 1,000-point scorer.  

On the bench, Duggan is excited about Assistant Coaches Mariah Leinbach and Kiely Chaklos '15, M'16, who both bring strong basketball backgrounds to the team. 

Lebanon Valley will begin the season at home on Friday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m., against Alvernia University at Sorrentino Gymnasium. The program will also host its Hoops for Hope Tournament on Nov. 20 and 21, when the Dutchmen are scheduled to take on Shenandoah University and the University of Mary Washington. LVC will open MAC Freedom competition on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m., against FDU-Florham at Sorrentino Gymnasium.  

Just after the end of finals, the Flying Dutchmen will compete against Roanoke College and Piedmont University in the Music City Classic on Dec. 18 and 19 at Welch College in Gallatin, Tennessee. Another key matchup will be against Arcadia University on Saturday, Jan. 23, for Hot Dog Frank Day. Lebanon Valley will close out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m., against Misericordia University for Senior Day at Sorrentino Gymnasium. LVC's full schedule can be found here. 

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