Lehigh University
California
Turnovers plague Lehigh in loss to Cal
11/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Boulder, CO – Lehigh had trouble holding on to the basketball as the turnover-plagued Mountain Hawks came up on the short end of a 66-47 decision to California in the opening round of the Coors Classic on the campus of the University of Colorado on Friday night. In all, Lehigh turned the ball over 31 times on the night, and the Golden Bears took full advantage. Cal scored 35 points off the Lehigh miscues en route to the win. “We can’t turn the ball over that many times and we have to be able to execute our offense if we ultimately want to be successful,” said Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan following the game. The Mountain Hawks (0-3) struggled shooting the basketball all night, particularly in the first half. Lehigh was 8-of-26 in the first period from the floor (31%), and the Mountain Hawks found themselves down by nine, 27-18, at the break. Lehigh stayed in the game because of some tough defense, holding the Golden Bears to just 29% from the floor in that stanza. In fact, Lehigh led 12-9 with 13:32 to go in the half, before an 11-4 Cal run put the Bears ahead for the first time – a lead they would never relinquish. California (3-0) pulled away with a 23-9 run to start the second half, and the Bears cruised to victory after that. Lehigh was plagued by more than turnovers, as the Mountain Hawks had an uncharacteristically tough time at the free throw line. As a team, Lehigh was just 6-of-15 (40%) from the stripe in the loss. Cal’s Kristin Iwanaga led all scorers with 17 points on the night. Teammate Nihan Anaz added 15 for California. The Mountain Hawks were led offensively for the third straight game by Jessica DePalo, who scored 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. She also pulled down seven rebounds. Classmate Chantal St. Laurent added a career high seven points off the bench, in addition to being credited with three steals on the night. Lauren Reini added ten rebounds, and Dawn Gorynski scored eight points in her first start of the season for Lehigh. Lehigh returns to action on Saturday, when the Mountain Hawks participate in the consolation game of the Coors Classic. Lehigh will take on either Idaho State or No. 16 Colorado at 8:00 Eastern Time. The game can be heard on WLVR-FM (91.3) in the Lehigh Valley, or worldwide on Lehigh’s web site beginning at 7:45.
