FREDERICK, Md.--The Hood College women's basketball team (4-11, 2-5 Commonwealth) dropped a 72-54 Commonwealth Conference decision to the No. 17 Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen (14-2, 8-1 Commonwealth) Wednesday evening at BB&T Arena.

The Dutchmen raced out of the gates by hitting six of their first 12 shots from the field to take a 16-7 advantage 7:23 into the game. But over the next few minutes, LVC went ice cold from the floor, hitting just 1-of-11 field goal attempts. A three-pointer by Alexis Briscoe and a jumper by Emily Maerz allowed Hood to trim the deficit to just one, 27-26, with 1:48 to play before the half. LVC clung to a narrow 32-27 lead at the break.

Lebanon Valley shot an even 50 percent from the field (14-of-28) in the second half and would not relinquish its lead.

LVC came into the game ranked second in the conference in rebounding margin at +15.3, but Hood won the battle of the boards on this night, 44-41, including a season-high 14 by Rachel Wiley and 10 by Shakara Head. Dyanna Prater paced the Blazer offense with 13 points and is now 28 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau. Maerz chipped in seven points and is one triple away from 100 for her Hood career. Head finished with nine points off the bench while Briscoe and Olivia Hosch chipped in five points apiece.

LVC's Caitlin Bach led all scorers with 23 points and 15 boards while Tierney Hiltz tallied 21 for the victors.

Hood hits the road Saturday for another Commonwealth matchup at No. 5 Messiah College. Tip is set for 5 p.m.