ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley women's basketball squad will compete for a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom title this week as the fourth seed in the conference tournament. The Dutchmen will face top-seeded DeSales University in the Semifinals on Wednesday.
 
LVC is playing in the conference tournament for the fifth consecutive season and enters the postseason with an 18-7 overall record. The Dutchmen went 9-5 in conference play this year and will take on DeSales in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. Last season, the roles were reversed as LVC was the top seed and swept the season series with the Bulldogs before DSU earned a heartbreaking 43-41 victory in the postseason. This season, DSU is the top seed with a 17-8 overall record and 11-3 mark in conference play. The Bulldogs won by scores of 46-33 and 49-43 in the two regular-season meetings, holding LVC to its two lowest point totals of the season. The Wednesday night game will tip at 7 p.m. inside Billera Hall.
 
Second-seeded Arcadia University will host third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology in the other semifinal pairing that is also a rematch from last year. The Knights and Ducks split the season series, with each team winning on its home court. Arcadia won the most recent meeting in Glenside by a score of 84-60. The rubber game of the season series will tip at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday inside Alumni Gymnasium. The Dutchmen split the season series with the Knights and Ducks winning both games in Annville.
 
There is an admission cost for all conference tournament games. Prices are set by the conference office and are $10 for adults, and $5 for seniors (65+), and youth (7-17). MAC students with an ID and children six and under with an adult are free.
 
Wednesday's game is expected to be another defensive battle between the teams with the top two defenses in the conference. DeSales leads the league, allowing 48.4 points per game, while LVC is second at 49.5 points per game. Arcadia is third with 57.4 points per game. The Dutchmen are first in the conference in opponent field goal percentage at 32.5 percent, while DSU is second with 33.6 percent. Lebanon Valley is the top rebounding team in the conference with 42.6 per game and a 10.9 rebounding margin.
 
Riley Hevelow leads the Dutchmen with 15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game this season as the team's primary ball handler. Kailey Eckhart has been a defensive nightmare for teams and is averaging 13.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while coming off a career-high 32-point performance on Saturday. Brielle Reidinger has recorded eight double-doubles this year and has 10.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. Abbie Reed has been an outstanding defensive presence all year while recording 5.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game. Alexa Holcomb rounds out the starting five and is having an excellent junior season with 3.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.3 steals per game.
 
Adrianna Stricek, Megan Albrecht, and Erika Badner have given the team firepower off the bench, with each averaging over 10 minutes per game. Stricek averages 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds, while Albrecht adds 3.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Badner is a three-point threat, with 11 of her 16 field goals being three-pointers while averaging 2.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. Ava Peel, Erin Ford, Olivia Baldwin, Kayla Kirkpatrick, and Maddie Sellers have also contributed to the team's success.
 
Stevens defeated DeSales in the conference title game last year, breaking a streak of six consecutive championships for the Bulldogs. The Dutchmen are looking to win the first conference title since 2013. They will need to end a streak of 10 straight conference championship appearances by DeSales to play for the championship on Saturday. Saturday's Championship game will be held at the site of the highest remaining seed.

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