Being a part of the postseason is nothing new to Yvonne Kauffman.

Her 42-year career at the helm of the Elizbethtown College women's basketball team included many playoff games. Championships, too.

Her current team? That's a different story.

The Blue Jays, appearing in the postseason for the first time in 11 seasons, couldn't sustain a torrid start and fell to playoff-hardened Lebanon Valley College, 69-47 in a Commonwealth Conference semifinal game Wednesday night in Annville.

The game was Kauffman's last, since she announced her retirement several months ago. She leaves as one of the winningest coaches in Division III history.

"I don't know," Kauffman said, when asked about her feelings after the game. "Just not sure."

Pressed a bit, Kauffman said she felt good that her team played well enough to make the playoffs after missing for so many years. She was happy, too, that her successor will have a team with many solid players.

Kauffman couldn't have asked for a better start to her final game. The Blue Jays (16-9) hit six of their first seven shots, including three 3-pointers, to take a 15-7 lead five minutes into the game.

"We came into the game with a lot of heart, with everyone on the same page," said sophomore guard and Hempfield grad Kendra Beittel, who had a team-high 16 points. "We wanted, more than anything, to come out and, if we were down, to keep everyone's head in it."

The nationally-ranked Flying Dutchmen (23-3), the defending Commonwealth champions, fought back and tied the score. As hot as E-town was early, the Jays went scoreless for 5:43 after that early eight-point lead.

Still, they fought back to take a 28-27 lead at halftime. Katy Fogel, Taylor Alwine and Taylor Kreider (nine points, team-high 11 rebounds) scored in the final minutes of the first half to erase a small LVC lead.

E-town hung in for the first five minutes of the second half, but after that, Lebanon Valley took off. Led by junior guard Tierney Hiltz (team-high 19 points), LVC began scoring from the post, which is their forte, and from the perimeter. A 12-0 run put the Flying Dutchmen up 50-38.

Another 10-0 run and LVC was ahead for good.

"It just got away from us," Beittel said.

 E-town, which made three of its first four 3-pointers, made only two of its last 18, many taken under duress in an attempt to cut a big LVC lead.

"We couldn't get anything to fall in the second half," Kauffman said. "We hesitated a little on our shots."

Kauffman's teams made strides over the last couple of seasons. There was progress this season in that E-town's losses were only to teams with better records.

"I'm very proud of this group," she said.

Notes: LVC advances to play Widener, which tripped up higher-seeded Messiah, 60-58 in the other CC semifinal. The title game is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at LVC. … LVC's Renee Fritz (Lampeter-Strasburg) finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

kfreeman@lnpnews.com