Lehigh University
UMBC
Mountain Hawks fall to Retrievers
9/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – The Lehigh women’s basketball team fell behind early and could not recover, losing 71-57 to UMBC at Stabler Arena. Head coach Sue Troyan remains tied with Muffet McGraw atop the all-time wins list in Lehigh women’s basketball history at 88. The loss dropped the Mountain Hawks to 4-4 on the season, UMBC raised its record to 3-3. UMBC jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first five minutes of play. The Retrievers extended their lead to as many as 15. The Mountain Hawks did not quit, using a 15-5 run to close the margin to six, trailing 35-29 heading into halftime. Jana Ransom led Lehigh’s efforts, scoring seven in the half. Not to be outdone, UMBC’s Matea Pender poured in 13 during the opening frame. The Retriever’s built the lead back to double digits to start the second half, but a three point play by Anne Tierney cut the deficit to five at 43-38 with 15:23 to play. But that would be as close as Lehigh would get. The Retrievers’ lead jumped as high as 18 points. Anne Tierney scored 11 of her Mountain Hawk best 15 points in the second half. Tierney’s eight rebounds also led Lehigh. Ransom was the only other Mountain Hawk to reach double figures with 10 points. Lehigh could not figure out the Retriever defense, committing 29 turnovers. UMBC was hot from the field, shooting an even 50% for the game. Jessie Smith was the leading scorer for the Retrievers with a game-high 22 points. Pender finished with 17 points and led UMBC with 6 rebounds. Sheila Johnson chipped in with 12 points and six steals for the Retrievers. Lehigh returns to the court on Thursday December 20th, when the Virginia Commonwealth comes to Stabler Arena. Tip off is set for 7:00 pm. The game can be heard on the Lehigh website at
