Lebanon Valley Uses Big First Half to Oust Grove City
Tim Shay
TOURNAMENT PAGE
By Tim Shay
GROVE CITY, Pa. - When a basketball team goes on the road in the postseason, one of the ways it can improve its chances of winning the game is to build an early lead and take the home crowd out of the game. That is exactly what the Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen did Wednesday night in their Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III Women's Basketball opening round tilt at Grove City College.
Lebanon Valley (15-12) built a sizeable lead in the first half over Grove City (18-10), and the Dutchmen never looked back, taking the win 73-62.
Grove City scored four of the first six points of the game, but Lebanon Valley took control with a 9-0 run that spanned less than two minutes early in the first quarter. The Dutchmen eventually pushed their lead to 19-8 on a made jumper by from Anne Lehr with 3:40 to play in the opening frame, and though the Wolverines closed to within six points twice, the Dutchmen scored twice in the final 11 seconds of the period to take a 27-17 lead after one quarter of play.
The Dutchmen continued to push their lead in the second period, using a 7-0 run to claim a 15-point lead with 6:37 left in the half. Another 7-0 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer from Becky Evans, stretched LVC's lead to 19 with 1:08 to go, and at intermission, the Dutchmen were in command, leading 46-31.
In the third quarter, The Dutchmen stretched their lead back to 19 in just less than three minutes of action, taking a 52-33 lead with 7:10 to play in the period. The Wolverines scored six straight points late in the frame, cutting the LVC lead to 53-41, but the run took nearly two and a half minutes, and at the end of three, LVC continued to lead comfortably, 55-41.
Grove City tried to rally in the fourth, using a 7-0 run in the late stages of the period to trim the Dutchmen's lead to 65-58, but they were unable to pull closer, and at the final horn, LVC emerged victorious 73-62.
Evans led the Dutchmen with 20 points in the game, and she was joined in double-figures by Emily Mealy (15), Caroline Scarff (13), and Lehr (12). Kate Balcom of Grove City led all scorers in the game with 22 points, Lexie Arkwright added 18 for the Wolverines, and Jess Book tallied 14 in the loss.
LVC shot the ball at a 52.8% clip (28-for-53) in the game, including making 4-of-10 (40%) from long distance. At the charity stripe, the Dutchmen were 13-for-18 (72.2%) in the win. Grove City made 28-of-69 (40.6%) from the floor, but only 2-of-15 (13.3%) from long distance. The Wolverines also only made it to the foul line six times in the contest, making four (66.7%) attempts.
The Dutchmen advance to the ECAC Quarterfinal round, which will be played at Washington & Jefferson University on Friday, March 2. LVC will battle the Misericordia University Cougars (17-10) in the 2 p.m. game for the right to advance to the ECAC Semifinal.
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