ANNVILLE, Pa. (Jan. 13, 2016) – The Widener University women's basketball team fell to Lebanon Valley by a 77-38 score on Wednesday evening at the Sorrentino Gymnasium.
 
Plagued with cold shooting throughout the first quarter, Widener trailed 22-5 through 10 minutes of action after going just 2-of-15 from the floor. Bridget Rothert nailed a 3-pointer and Peyton Carper sank three free throws down the stretch to give the Dutchwomen a 17-point advantage to work with in the early going.
 
Senior Nikki Sutliff (Sweet Vally, Pa.) attempted to start a rally by drilling a trey early in the second quarter, but Lebanon Valley (10-5, MAC Commonwealth 4-2) shook it off and blasted ahead by 20 on two occasions courtesy of two layups from Carper. Rachel Kelly extended the margin to 23 at 39-16 with 1:06 to play that prompted a Widener timeout, and the score between the two sides would hold at the break.
 
Lebanon Valley stayed in control for the remainder of the game. The Dutchwomen ballooned their lead up to as many as 42 before eventually running away with the 39-point win.
 
Sophomore Julia Venturelli (Bridgewater, N.J.) led the way for Widener by scoring 10 points and adding four rebounds. Classmate Brianna Cullen (Lansdale, Pa.) contributed seven points and five boards off the bench, while senior Ally Ferrucci (Vineland, N.J.) finished with five assists and four steals.
 
Carper paced Lebanon Valley by registering a game-high 15 points to go along with four rebounds, two assists and two swipes. Kiely Chaklos had 12 points, and Taylor Umbrell recorded nine points and six helpers. Lexie Lantz was solid in a reserve role, concluding the game with 11 points and six boards.
 
Widener (10-5, MAC Commonwealth 3-3) will regroup and be back in action when it visits Messiah on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 3:00 p.m.