Box Score

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Down 12 with 7:45 left, the Lycoming College women's basketball team went long-distance to get back in the game and then closed it out at the free throw line, with senior Julia Antonelli (Hanover, Pa./New Oxford) hitting two with 13.4 seconds left to lift the team to a 56-54 win over Commonwealth Conference-leading Lebanon Valley on Wednesday night, Feb. 12, at Dutch Burch Court at Lamade Gym.
 
With the Warriors (10-11 overall, 7-8 Commonwealth) down, 54-53 after a jumper by sophomore Olivia Manges (York, Pa./West York) with 2:21 left, the Warriors forced two fruitless Lebanon Valley (17-5 overall, 11-4 Commonwealth) possessions before Antonelli was fouled with 47 seconds left. However, she missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and LVC pulled down the rebound. A 3-second call gave Lycoming the ball back and junior Janelle Ziminski (Drums, Pa./Hazleton Area) drove in for a layup that fell off, but Antonelli was fouled as she attempted to follow the shot.
 
The senior swished both free throws to give Lycoming a 55-54 lead and LVC, facing full-court pressure, ran the court, but a wild layup fell off and Ziminski was fouled on the rebound. She hit the back end of her pair with 1.5 seconds left and the Warriors kept their playoff hopes alive and well with three games remaining in the season.
 
"We showed some resiliency and an ability to bounce back after two tough losses," Lycoming head coach Christen Ditzler said. "We found a way (Wednesday). That was our focus all week, finding ways to win."
 
Down 53-41, the Warriors started the comeback after travel call on a remarkable made layup by Lebanon Valley. Lycoming responded with a 3-pointer from freshman Nicole Calella (Sandyston, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) and Ziminski added another trey at the 5:52 mark, making it a six-point game. After clearing out a defensive rebound, Antonelli went coast-to-coast to make it a four-point game before Lebanon Valley got its final point of the game, on a free throw with 3:49 remaining. Calella responded with a pair of free throws to make it a 3-point game and after a steal by Ziminski and a missed 3-pointer by Lebanon Valley, Manges hit the jumper to set up the final 2:23.
 
"We never let down," Ditzler said. "We just remained focused and poised and chipped away."
 
In the first half, the Dutchmen contained Antonelli, who is third in the conference in scoring, holding her to two points, but the Warriors thrived on the outside, as Ziminski scored seven and both sophomores Manges and Victoria Siebecker (Annville, Pa./Annville-Cleona) hitting two 3-pointers, keeping the Warriors close to the first-place Dutchmen.
 
After the teams had exchanged three ties and five lead changes in the first half, a 3-pointer by Manges gave Lycoming a 20-19 lead and ignited a 10-1 run that was capped on a jumper by Calella and a 3-pointer from Siebecker to give Lycoming a 27-20 lead with 1:32 left in the half.
 
The Dutchmen responded with a  seven-point run to end the half and send the game into halftime knotted at 27 and then started the second half with five straight points, before the Warriors fought back to tie it at 34 with 17:16 left. The next 10 minutes were controlled by Lebanon Valley, which had been ranked for most of this season before falling out of the polls two weeks ago, as they mounted a 19-7 run to take the 53-41 lead.
 
The Warriors, who didn't grab a rebound until the 15:26 mark of the first half, finished with a 32-31 advantage on the glass and a 43-41 percent advantage from the floor, thanks to a supreme 57 percent (8-for-14) effort from 3-point range, while Lebanon Valley hit just three treys in 11 attempts.
 
Ziminski led the Warriors with 14 points, three 3-pointers and three assists and Calella added 11 points and five assists. Manges added 10 points and six rebounds and Antonelli posted eight points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Both Siebecker and junior Ali Derr (New Columbia, Pa./Milton Area) contributed six points.
 
Caitlin Bach posted 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists to lead Lebanon Valley, while Kelly Chiaklos posted 11 and Peyton Carper added 10 points and three steals.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Saturday, Feb. 15, when they host Arcadia at 1 p.m. at Dutch Burch Court at Lamade Gym in a Commonwealth Conference game. The Warriors will host their annual "Pink Game" at the event, with proceeds to benefit King's College women's basketball coach Brian Donoghue, who is fighting brain cancer.