WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – In a tie game with less than three minutes left, sophomore
Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford) grabbed a huge offensive rebound and passed it off to senior
Chelsea Henderson (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers), who dished it to the right wing for junior
Nicole Calella (Sandyston, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) for a just her second 3-pointer of the year. The Lycoming College women's basketball team never trailed again, going on for a key 63-60 MAC Commonwealth win over Lebanon Valley College on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 16, at Lamade Gymnasium.
The win propels the Warriors to a 10-6 overall record with a 5-3 MAC Commonwealth mark while the loss drops the Flying Dutchmen to 10-6 overall and 4-3 in conference.
Sophomore
Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford) came up clutch down the stretch. Leading by one, Mueller received a perfect lob inside from Calella and then hit two free throws on the next possession to keep the Warrior lead at three points. On the next defensive possession, Mueller forced a jump ball which gave the ball back to the Warriors. In the final 30 seconds of the game, two free throws each from senior
Olivia Manges (York, Pa./West York) and freshman
Becca Painter (Elverson, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) sealed the win for the Warriors.
Manges finished 4-for-9 (.444) from deep to propel her to a season-high 20 points for the Warriors and also added six rebounds and two assists. Freshman
Jenn Grove (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area) finished with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting (.625) and pulled in four rebounds while Calella finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
The Warriors scored on each of their first four possessions to jump out to an early 8-2 lead. This run was part of an overall 12-2 run which was fueled by Grove, who made three layups during the run. Lebanon Valley was able to find its offense, as it went on a 9-3 run towards the end of the quarter. With under a minute left in the quarter, following a Grove layup, Henderson came up with a steal and finished off the break-away layup as the Warriors held a 19-13 lead after one.
The Warriors began the second quarter by scoring the first 10 points, including 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Manges. Later in the second, Henderson came up with another steal making her the 15th player in school history with 125 thefts in a career. After Lebanon Valley went on an 8-2 run to get to within 10 points, Manges hit her third three of the quarter to end the run and helped the Warriors go into halftime leading 39-26.
The Warriors shot 16-for-31 (.516) in the first half, committed three fewer turnovers (9-6) and led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter.
Lebanon Valley began a huge comeback in the third as they went on a 17-3 run to give them a 43-42 lead, their first of the game. Manges hit a jumper on the final Warrior possession of the third to give them the lead heading into the fourth, 44-43.
The two teams battled back and forth early in fourth quarter. With the game tied at 50, junior
Nicole Calella (Sandyston, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) hit a jumper not only to regain the lead for the Warriors, but to also give her 500 points in her career with 4:26. After the Dutchmen responded with a layup, it set up Calella's big 3-pointer.
As a team, the Warriors shot 5-for-12 (.417) from 3-point range and 16-for-20 (.800) at the free throw line as well as holding advantages in steals (8-7) and points off turnovers (19-17). The Warriors held a lead for a total of 37:47 during the game. The 10th win for the Warriors on the season gives head coach Chris Ditzler a 10-win season for the third year in a row and the 16th overall in her coaching career.
The Flying Dutchmen were led by Peyton Carper and Lexie Lantz. Carper finished with 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting (.429), six rebounds, and two steals while Lantz also shot 6-of-14 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Warriors will return to action on Monday, Jan. 18 when they host King's College for its final non-conference battle at 7 p.m.
