WILLIAMSPORT --- In a game that featured five lead changes and six ties in the first half, everyone at Lamade Gymnasium early Saturday afternoon knew the game between Lycoming and Lebanon Valley was going to come down to the wire. Junior guard Jessica Zerbee led all Warriors with 17 points, pouring in 15 of those in the second half. Despite Zerbee's points, the Warriors fell 70-69.

With the loss, the Lady Warriors are 11-6 overall and 2-5 in the Commonwealth, while LVC improves to 12-6 and 5-2.

In the first five minutes of the game, no team led by more than three points, with the Dutchmen going up  8-5 17:40 when Lori Lidlow buried a jumper at the top of the key. But Lycoming would answer when senior forward Andrea Cooper scored a layup, giving Lycoming its first lead of the afternoon, 9-8. LVC’s Eryn Schultz knotted the game at 12 apiece with the front end of a 1-and-1, and knocked down the second to give the Dutchmen a 13-12 lead.

Both teams traded two-point plays, and tied again 16-16 at 9:06 as Lebanon Valley’s Suzie Noyes drove the lane for a layup. Both squads found themselves even again at 3:30 as Schultz tied the game for the eighth time.

In the waning moments of the first half, Valley went on a small run, going up by four at 1:15 when Megan Bish picked up an old-fashioned three. But the Warriors were not to be out done, as Alicia Engler cut the Dutchmen lead to two, canning two free throws at 1:07. Lycoming headed to the locker room down 31-29.

Early in the second half, Lebanon Valley was able to amass a nine-point lead at 13:42 when Lidlow hit two free throws. The Dutchmen were able to maintain their lead through most of the half until Zerbee got hot.

Throughout the second half, Zerbee was able to find the bottom of the net on several key shots, slowly whittling away at the LVC lead. She shot 5-of-6 from beyond the three-point line in the second half, and got support from Engler, who tied the game 61-61 with just 4:54 remaining. Becky Leid stepped up big late as well, putting in two straight free throw attempts to give the Warriors their first lead of the half.

With under a minute to play, Noyes gave LVC a two-point 68-66 lead with 47 seconds left. Zerbee too was able to find a three pointer late, hitting hers with only 24 seconds remaining, putting Lycoming up one, 69-68.

But a late layup by Lidlow sealed the 70-69 nail-biter for the Dutchmen.

Leading in points on the day was LVC’s Schultz, whose 26 points were key in the victory. Lycoming was able to keep itself in the game by coming up big on the glass, pulling down 39 rebounds, with Engler pacing the field at nine. Freshman Erin Connaghan was a big contributor off the bench, posting 14 of Lycoming’s 26 points from the bench. Connaghan also had four boards.

The Lady Warriors will be back in action Monday when they travel to Altoona to face the Penn State branch campus. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.