Marywood Scores First Ever Win over Lebanon Valley
Erika Thomas generated 12 points to lead the Pacers to their first win over LVC

Marywood Scores First Ever Win over Lebanon Valley

Women's Basketball - 12/19/2016 10:31:00 PM

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Scranton, Pa. – Marywood University earned its first victory over Lebanon Valley College in women's basketball program history with a 54-46 win Monday to erase its two-game losing streak. The Pacers scored the first 11 points of the game and fought tooth-and-nail to hold off several Flying Dutchmen comeback attempts.

Marywood lost all 15 of its previous meetings against regional powerhouse Lebanon Valley.

Catie Nealon led the Pacers in scoring for the second straight game. Nealon made half of her 12 shots for 14 points. She also led the team with four assists.

Erika Thomas provided the team with 12 points. Natasha Hessling totaled 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals.

Gab Giordano was a rebound and point shy of a double-double.

Hilary Yoh composed nearly half of the Flying Dutchmen's points, finishing with a game-high 22 points on 11 field goals. Lexi Lantz corralled a game-best 12 rebounds.

Marywood caused turnovers on Leb Val's first three possessions, scoring on a pair of Kylie Devlin and Nealon fast breaks in the first 35 seconds of the game. The Pacers held the Dutchmen scoreless for nearly the first four minutes. Thomas connected on a 3-pointer at the 6:36 mark in the first quarter to take an early 11-0 lead.

The Pacers left the Insalaco Arena victorious despite a torrid night of ball control. Marywood committed 26 turnovers to the Flying Dutchmen's 16. Leb Val outscored Marywood 24-9 in points off turnovers.

The Pacers (5-5) were able to take advantage of a cold shooting night by their opponents. LVC made only 29.6 percent of its shots, while Marywood received points on 42 percent of its attempts. 

After Marywood's lead grew to as many as 12 in the first quarter, Leb Val came through with a nine-point run in the latter minutes of the frame. Lisa Steakin changed the Pacers' fortunes with two baskets on the team's final two possessions to take an 18-11 lead. 

Steakin came through again at the end of the second. With the game seeing more than five minutes lapsed without a field goal, Steakin gave the team a lead heading into half when she hit a jumper from Nealon with 25 seconds remaining to break a 23-23 tie. 

Marywood began to pull away with the third quarter; however, the Flying Dutchmen made a late push in the waning minutes. Yoh hit a jump shot with 1:49 left in regulation to cut it to a two-possession (52-46) game. Hessling made a clutch steal with 40 seconds remaining that allowed Giordano to close out the game at the free throw line. 

The Pacers are idle until they take on Misericordia University on Dec. 30. 
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