Lehigh University
Binghamton
Lehigh rallies past Bearcats in milestone win
9/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – Head coach Sue Troyan recorded her 88th career win Wednesday to tie Muffet McGraw as the all-time winningest coach in Lehigh women’s basketball history. The Mountain Hawks pushed past Binghamton 67-60 to snap the Bearcat’s six game winning streak. Lehigh moves to 4-3 overall and Binghamton falls to 6-2 on the season. Cat Nicholson scored the Mountain Hawks first eight points, as Lehigh kept pace early. After Nicholson’s second three-pointer of the game tied the score at eight, the Bearcats ran off a 13-2 run to build a 21-10 lead. Lehigh chipped away at the lead and trailed 28-25 when a tough defensive stand forced a shot clock violation by Binghamton with 28 seconds left in the half. The Mountain Hawks held for the last shot, and Kelly Berk hit a jumper in the waning seconds to cut the deficit to one point. Lehigh ended the half with a 13-5 run over the last 6:29, fueled by six points from Berk. "We didn’t do a great job boxing out in the first half," said sophomore Jana Ransom. "Coach [Troyan] told us we had to [box out] or sit, so we boxed out." Cat Nicholson came out shooting again in the second half, hitting another three-pointer to tie the score at 30 apiece. A jumper by Carli Toliver gave the Mountain Hawks the lead at 32-30. Anne Tierney scored Lehigh’s next nine points, her first of the game, as Lehigh built a 41-38 lead. The two teams traded leads over the next several minutes, before the Mountain Hawks got some breathing room after Nicholson added her fourth triple of the game. The bucket gave Lehigh its biggest lead at 54-47. The Bearcats ran off a 7-2 run and tied the game at 56, when Jana Ransom hit a three and Billi Ford drove for a lay up to push Lehigh’s lead back to five. Nicholson’s 14 points and four treys led the Mountain Hawks. Anne Tierney scored all 13 of her points in the second half, and snatched 13 rebounds to notch her fourth double-double for the season. The Mountain Hawks got a spark off the bench from Kelly Berk, as she scored six points and pulled down seven boards. Lehigh got a solid defensive effort all around, holding Binghamton to just 28.8% from the field. "This was a nice win for us," said head coach Sue Troyan after the game. "Overall, I thought we played very well tonight." Sarah Cartmill paced Binghamton with 22 points and nine rebounds. Leah Truncale’s 10 rebounds and five steals were Bearcat highs. Truncale added 13 points to get a double-double of her own, marking the fifth time she has done that this season. Lehigh returns to action on Saturday, December 8, when the Mountain Hawks host UMBC at Stabler Arena. Tip off is set for 5:30. For more information, contact
