Women's Basketball Falls, 68-56, to No. 18 LVC in Conference Semifinals

(box score)

Widener could not overcome great second-half shooting from No. 18 Lebanon Valley both from the field and on the line in a 68-56 loss in the Commonwealth Conference semifinals at Schwartz Center.

Third-seeded LVC jumped to an early lead before Widener used a 9-2 spurt to take its only advantage, 16-15 with 8:20 left in the opening half. Kate Dellinger (Wrightsville, PA) scored four points in that span with fellow senior Vanessa Hejnas (Delran, NJ) adding three.

Second-seeded Widener in the first half was buoyed by its defense, which held LVC without a basket for over 8 1/2 minutes. The Dutchmen shot 36 percent from the field in the half and made just one 3-pointer.

The score stayed close the rest of the half before the Dutchmen scored the last four points for a 32-24 halftime lead. Tierney Hiltz scored 10 points with Renee Fritz adding six and six rebounds.

After the Dutchmen extended their lead to 39-28 with 14:36 remaining, the Pride used an 11-3 spurt in just under four minutes for a 42-39 deficit with 10:55 to play. Dellinger and Hejnas scored three points apiece and junior Joanna Persiano (Absecon, NJ) capped it on a 3-pointer.

LVC did not let the raucous crowd bother it, scoring the next six points for a 48-39 margin with 8:46 left. Kerri Stolle hit back-to-back layups and Fritz ended it on a layup.

Sophomore Ally Ferrucci (Vineland, NJ) made two free throws with 8:38 to play for a seven-point deficit. But the Dutchmen scored the next six points for a 54-41 margin with 5:50 remaining that all but ended things. Liz Borgia capped the spurt on a layup.

LVC intended to take the air out of the ball in the second half and it worked, attempting only 19 shots in the period but making nine for a 47-percent clip. It ultimately won the game at the line, shooting 16-for-22 in the second half and 25-for-34 overall.

Dellinger, who earlier this week was picked second team Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America for the second straight year, had 13 points and seven rebounds with Ferrucci adding 12 points and five assists. Persiano and senior Francesca Lee (Hainesport, NJ) netted eight points apiece.

Caitlin Bach had 14 points and 13 rebounds for LVC (22-4), but did her damage on the line by shooting 12-for-15. Hiltz poured in a game-high 16 points, Chaklos netted 13 and Fritz added 10 for the Dutchmen, who shot 40 percent (20-of-50) overall from the floor.

Widener (21-5) was making its sixth straight appearance in the conference tournament and was hosting a league tournament game for the first time since 1983. The team entered the contest fifth in the latest NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings, received votes in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll and was coming off finishing atop a league standing for the first time since winning the Middle Atlantic Conference Southern Division in 1983.

The Pride also broke the school record for most overall and league wins (16-2) in a season.

But the squad had its nine-game winning streak halted and was handed its first home loss of the season (11-1), squashing the chance for its second undefeated home season in school history and first since 1976-77.

Widener will wait to see if it receives an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The pairings will be announced Monday at 2:30 pm on NCAA.com.

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