(box score)
Widener led for much of the first half, but could not hold off a tough opponent in 15th-ranked Lebanon Valley and dropped a 69-62 Commonwealth Conference contest at Schwartz Center.
Widener jumped to a 12-4 lead in just over the first six minutes, highlighted by two 3-pointers from freshman Jennifer Egee (Ridley Park, PA).
Lebanon Valley countered with a 10-2 run to make it 14-14 with 8:34 left in the first half and took its first lead, 18-16, just short of the 14-minute mark.
The Pride closed the period on a 10-3 spurt to hold a 30-25 lead at halftime.
Suzie Noyes dropped the first five points of the second half to draw Lebanon Valley even once again, only to be answered by a 5-0 Widener spurt that gave the hosts a 35-30 lead with just over 15 minutes to play.
Lebanon Valley began to take over from there. The Dutchmen took their largest lead, 51-39, with just under seven and a half minutes left, following a 21-4 surge that included two 8-0 runs.
Widener refused to quit, however. After Caitlin Murphy hit a jumper to give Lebanon Valley a 60-51 lead with 2:33 left, freshman Alyssa Wiggins (Swedesboro, NJ) drilled a 3-pointer just nine seconds later. Following a 30-second timeout, sophomore Kate Dellinger (Wrightsville, PA), who finished with a career-high five steals, stole the inbounds pass and completed an old-fashioned 3-point play to cut the deficit to three with 2:04 to go.
But that was as close as the Pride would get. Lebanon Valley hit four straight free throws in the final 35 seconds to seal the victory.
The guests shot 58 percent (14-of-24) from the field in the second half and held Widener to just 37 percent (11-of-30). Lebanon Valley also finished with a 36-26 edge in the paint and a 22-8 advantage in bench scoring.
Dellinger and fellow sophomore Lil Carney (Narberth, PA) finished with a game-high 15 points each for the Pride (12-4, 3-2 CC). Sophomore Francesca Lee (Hainesport, NJ) hauled in nine rebounds.
Andrea Hoover led the Dutchmen (15-1, 5-0) with 14 points and five assists. Renee Fritz finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Lauren Ruhl came off the bench to total 12 points and four steals.
Widener on Wednesday travels to Reading, PA for a Commonwealth Conference game with Alvernia, beginning at 6:00 pm.
