Women's Basketball Battles to the End in Tough 67-60 Loss at No. 16 LVC

(box score)

Widener held a second-half lead against 16th-ranked Lebanon Valley and valiantly fought to the closing moments, but succumbed in a 67-60 Commonwealth Conference setback in Annville, PA.

Widener (11-7, 4-3 CC) shook off an early LVC run in the second half and went on a 17-7 spurt for a 46-43 lead with 6:57 left. Junior Kate Dellinger (Wrightsville, PA) scored seven points in that span and sophomore Joanna Persiano (Absecon, NJ) ended it on a layup.

The Dutchmen (16-2, 7-0) put a halt to this by scoring the next nine points for a 52-46 lead with 5:14 remaining. Kiely Chaklos netted five points in that run which included a key three-point play.

The teams traded baskets before Chaklos hit twice from the line with 2:38 to go for a 58-50 contest. Junior Vanessa Hejnas (Delran, NJ) cut the deficit to six for Widener before a jumper from LVC's Caitlin Bach made it 60-52 with 2:06 to play.

Caitlin Murphy hit once from the line for the Dutchmen with 1:03 left before Dellinger's 3-pointer 11 seconds later made it a 61-55 contest. LVC's Gia Russo converted 1-of-2 from the stripe with 43 seconds to go for a seven-point contest.

The Pride then got the break they were looking for as sophomore Jennifer Egee (Ridley Park, PA) was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. She drilled all three free throws with 36 seconds left for a 62-58 contest.

But Chaklos was money from the line in the second half as she hit twice with 32 seconds to play for a 64-58 margin. After freshman Ally Ferrucci (Vineland, NJ) missed a 3-pointer for Widener, Chaklos canned 1-of-2 from the line with 17 seconds remaining to all but end it.

Chaklos scored 16 of her team-high 19 points in the second half and was 13-for-15 from the stripe, including 12-for-13 after intermission. Amanda Donia scored 10 points with Renne Fritz adding eight and nine rebounds for the Dutchmen, who shot 25-for-36 from the line.

Dellinger did all she could with 20 points, marking the fourth time she reached that this season. She shot 8-of-13 from the field, including 5-of-7 in the second half, and played 38 minutes.

Hejnas and junior Francesca Lee (Hainesport, NJ) scored 11 points apiece for Widener, which shot 44 percent (12-of-27) in the second half.

Widener on Saturday battles Alvernia at 1:00 pm in Reading, PA.

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