CHESTER, Pa. – Nikki Petri scored 13 and Tatiana Pleasant tallied career highs in points and rebounds, but the Widener University women's basketball team fell on a buzzer beater, 56-54 to the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen in a MAC Commonwealth contest on Wednesday night.
 
Petri led the Pride with her scoring total, connecting on 3-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. Pleasant had personal bests with eight points and eight rebounds, numbers matched by Allison Gallagher. Devan Rimmer had nine points while Madison Ireland netted eight with five assists and four rebounds.
 
Both teams started slowly as Widener fell behind 4-0 four minutes into the game before a layup by Rimmer got the Pride on the board. The bucket ignited an 11-0 run for the Blue and Gold, capped by a jumper from Petri, who scored five points in the run, giving Widener an 11-4 lead with just less than two minutes left in the first. The spurt extended into the second quarter as the Pride opened an 18-6 lead at the 6:19 mark. The Dutchmen clawed their way back into the half, as the Blue and Gold took a 28-23 lead into intermission.
 
In the second half, LVC got the jump, scoring 10 of the first 13 points to take a two point lead at 33-31 with 4:15 to go in the third period. With the Dutchmen up 50-45 with 3:12 remaining, the Pride battled back, scoring eight of 10, the last three coming on a Rimmer trey to take a 53-52 lead at the 1:52 mark. After a basket by Lebanon Valley put the visitors on top, Gallagher made one of two at the line to tie the score with 16 seconds to go. The Dutchmen had the final say as a jumper from the left elbow out of the hand of Anne Lehr found the bottom of the net as time ran out.
 
Widener returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 2 when it travels to Stevenson for a MAC Commonwealth tilt. Tipoff from Owings Mills, Md. is slated for 1:00 p.m.