ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley women's basketball team took care of business with a strong 53-33 victory over visiting King's College on Saturday afternoon at Sorrentino Gymnasium in Annville. The victory completed the season sweep of the Monarchs and put the Dutchmen on the brink of clinching a postseason berth in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Championships.
 
LVC (16-5, 7-3 MAC Freedom) used a strong team effort to defeat the Monarchs (9-12, 2-8 MAC Freedom). King's scored four of the first six points of the game to take the early lead. Kailey Eckhart made a driving layup, and Riley Hevelow knocked down a step-back jumper on the right side to even the score at 4-4 a couple of minutes in. Neither team was able to score over a two-minute stretch until Brielle Reidinger scored underneath the rim with 5:28 on the clock to give the Dutchmen their first lead.
 
LVC kept the defensive pressure up as Eckhart doubled the advantage to four with a driving layup. The Monarchs ended their scoreless drought with a transition three-pointer that made it a one-point game. The Dutchmen responded with buckets by Alexa Holcomb and Adrianna Stricek to make it 12-7 with two minutes left. The Monarchs countered with a traditional three-point play before Reidinger found Stricek under the rim for a layup to put LVC up 14-10 after the first quarter.
 
Hevelow began the second quarter with a pull-up jumper along the baseline. Stricek then knocked down a jumper just inside the three-point line on the left wing. The Monarchs scored a minute later to cut the score to 18-12. LVC countered with back-to-back layups by Stricek and Hevelow. The teams traded three-pointers as Hevelow hit Holcomb on the right side. Hevelow then hit a step-back on the left side to push the lead to 27-15 with five minutes to play in the half.
 
The Monarchs made their third field goal of the quarter with just under four minutes to play that got the deficit down to 10. The Dutchmen locked down defensively the rest of the half and were able to expand the lead while holding KC off the scoreboard. Holcomb made the back end of two free throws, Reidinger also made the back end of two shots at the line, and then Erika Badner found Stricek open underneath for a layup to push the advantage to 31-17.
 
King's scored the first three points of the third quarter and held LVC off the board for the first three minutes. Reidinger grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Abbie Reed for a three-pointer to bring the lead up to 34-20. The Monarchs scored the only points over the next nearly four minutes with a jumper during a big defensive quarter by both teams. Hevelow ended LVC's scoreless drought with a pull-up on the left side in transition with three minutes on the clock.
 
The Monarchs made a pair of free throws at the other end of the court to get within 12. The Dutchmen responded with a great final 90 seconds of the quarter, outscoring KC 5-2 to take a 41-26 advantage. Reed sent a pass to Holcomb near the top of the key for a three-pointer, and then Megan Albrecht made both of her free throws after getting fouled while driving to the rim. The Monarchs ended the quarter with a pair of free throws.
 
Reidinger and Eckhart made layups on the first two offensive possessions of the fourth to push the lead to 19. Hevelow sent a pass over a defender to find Reinger under the rim, and then Eckhart put back an offensive rebound. KC scored on a second-chance attempt before the Dutchmen used a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the game. Reed knocked the ball away and then found Hevelow in transition for two points. Hevelow pulled up just outside the paint for her final points of the game, and then Reed found Eckhart in transition for a layup to make it 51-28 with 4:39 left. Both teams subbed out starters, and the Monarchs scored the next five points to get the deficit under 20 with just under two minutes to play. Erin Ford made a pair of free throws in the final minute to set the final score.
 
Inside the Box

• Hevelow had a game-high 14 points as she made seven of her 14 shots from the field. The senior added three assists, two rebounds, one block, and one steal. The guard has scored in double figures in all but two games this season.
• Stricek was in double figures for the second time this season with 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench. The forward was 5-for-7 from the field and grabbed four rebounds.
• Holcomb was just shy of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. The guard had three offensive rebounds and three steals.
• Eckhart led the team with 11 rebounds and scored eight points. The senior grabbed four rebounds on the offensive glass.
• Reidinger was also a force on the boards with nine rebounds. She also had five points, two blocks, and two steals.
• Reed had a strong defensive game with five steals. The junior made a three-pointer, dished out five assists, and grabbed three rebounds.
• LVC had a 49-27 rebounding advantage. The Dutchmen had 10 second-chance points off 18 offensive rebounds.
• The squad forced 20 turnovers and had 20 points off turnovers.
• Lebanon Valley has won all six conference meetings with King's over the past three years.

Up Next
The Dutchmen can clinch a spot in the MAC Freedom Championships on Wednesday, when the team will look to sweep the season series against FDU-Florham. Tip-off against the Devils is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Sorrentino Gymnasium in Annville.

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.