BOX SCORE

Reading, PA (January 27, 2010) – The DeSales University women's basketball team erased a 15-point second half deficit by out-scoring Albright College, 48-24, in the second half en route to its third straight win, 73-61, over the Lions in the Bollman Center on Wednesday evening in non-conference action.

The win moves DeSales back to the .500 mark (9-9 overall) for the first time since they were 4-4 earlier this season, while the Lions fall to 6-11 overall. DSU did its damage on the defensive side of the ball once again forcing the Lions into 32 turnovers for the game and scoring 23 points off those Albright miscues.

DSU started strong, opening up a 9-4 lead after a jumper from sophomore Hannah Smith (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) at the 16:10 mark. Albright however took control using a 23-5 run over the next 9:26 to take a 27-14 advantage. During that stretch, the Bulldogs really hurt themselves from the free throw line, converting just 1-of-10 from the charity stripe during the Lions rally.

DeSales pulled within seven at the 4:41 mark on a triple from junior Megan Montchyk (Bellmawr, NJ/Paul VI) but Albright pushed the lead back to 11 with four straight points and led by 12 at the break after a three-pointer from Jenny Knoebel with 48 seconds left. DSU shot just 33.3 percent from the field and made just 3-of-12 freebies in the opening half.

The second half was a completely different story.

A three-pointer by junior Lori Lidlow (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) started the half but six quick points by Albright gave the Lions their largest lead, 15 points (43-28), at the 17:54 mark when DeSales took the game over.

A quick 16-3 run over the next four minutes pulled the Bulldogs within three (47-44) at the 13:33 mark as Lidlow totaled six points and senior Kaila Wiand (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) hit a big three-pointer during the run. Down four just under three minutes later, DSU scored eight straight points including a three-pointer from Montchyk to end the mini-spurt and DeSales came all the way back to take a 54-50 lead with 9:07 to play.

The Bulldogs were not settled with just the lead as senior Kelly Magrann (Sinking Spring, PA/Holy Name) scored five quick points of her own to push the lead up to seven points and a lay-up from Lidlow at the 2:59 mark gave DSU a 10-point advantage as the Bulldogs put the finishing touches on a 12-point road win.

Lidlow continued her solid play with 21 points (18 in the second half) and a career-high eight steals to lead the Bulldogs. Sophomore Cherelle Simmons (Lancaster, PA/JP McCaskey) added 13 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, while Montchyk finished with double digits for the fourth straight game, totaling 12 points. Magrann added 11 points, including three treys, and Smith totaled six points and four steals in limited minutes due to foul trouble.

Albright got 15 points from Rory Yerkes and 14 tallies from Becca Pollack in the loss for the Lions.

DeSales returns to action on Saturday when they take to the road once again, returning to Freedom Conference action at Eastern University. Game time is set for 1:00 pm.