ANNVILLE, Pa. – Freshmen Kayla Kline (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg Area) and Akilah McFadden (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) combined for 33 points and junior Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford) added 18 more as the Lycoming College women's basketball team both a three-game skid and a 20-year long one in a 73-59 win over Lebanon Valley College in the MAC Commonwealth Championship first round on Monday night, Feb. 20, at Sorrentino Gymnasium.
 
The Warriors (15-10 overall), who won their first postseason game since a MAC quarterfinals in 1997, move on to face top-seeded Albright College in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
 
Kline finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the year and McFadden added 15 points, three assists and three steals. Mueller, meanwhile, added 18 points and eight rebounds, as Lycoming shot a healthy 46 percent (25-of-56) from the floor and 77 percent (20-of-26) from the line.
 
The Flying Dutchmen (12-14 overall) cut the lead to 12 points with 1:57 left in the third quarter after Lycoming had built a 16-point halftime lead, but Lycoming responded with nine of the next 11 points in the final two minutes of the quarter, with a jumper from junior Haley Sipple (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester) giving the team a 60-41 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
From there, the Warriors opened the lead to as many as 22 after at 67-45 off a free throw from Mueller with 6:04 left, but the Dutchmen made one last run thanks to senior Becky Evans, who hit two 3-pointers and a jumper to make it 67-53 with 4:37 left. The Warriors ended the run with four straight points and Lebanon Valley couldn't get any closer until the final 70 seconds at 12 points before sophomore Jenn Grove (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area) hit a layup to make up the final margin.
 
The Warriors and Dutchmen opened the game by fighting through three ties and three lead changes in the opening seven minutes of the game before senior Nicole Calella (Sandyston, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) and Mueller hit buckets back-to-back to start a the team on a 6-0 run to close the quarter with a 15-11 lead.
 
In the second quarter, the Dutchmen cut the gap to a point with the first three points, but the Warriors responded with a 14-4 run over a 5:12 span to build a 29-18 lead, as Kline led the run with six points. The Warriors pushed again near the end of the half with a six-point run, as Kline scored four straight points to give Lycoming a 39-23 lead at the break.
 
Calella finished with six points and three assists and Grove added six points and four rebounds for the Warriors. Freshman Hailey Dayton (Reisterstown, Md./St. Timothy's) posted four points and three assists and junior Becca Painter (Elverson, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) added four points and four rebounds in 30 minutes.
 
Hillary Yoh led the Dutchmen with 18 points and 15 rebounds and Lexie Lantz added 11 points. Evans also scored 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Anne Lehr posted five points and four assists and Jasmine Copeland finished with four points, five rebounds and four blocks. Lebanon Valley shot 36 percent (21-of-59) from the floor and struggled with foul trouble, as two players fouled out in the game.