Lehigh University
American
Tierney grabs rebound record in Lehigh win
9/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – For Lehigh junior Anne Tierney, Wednesday’s showdown with American University was just another game. The co-captain recorded another double-double – her tenth of the season and fifth in five Patriot League games – as Lehigh (8-10, 4-1 Patriot) defeated American (7-10, 2-3 Patriot) by a score of 68-60 at Stabler Arena. Tierney paced Lehigh with 22 points and 11 rebounds. What made this night different for Tierney was the fact that her fifth rebound was the 789th of her career, passing Jen Siemaszko for the top spot on Lehigh’s all-time rebounding list. Tierney finished the night all alone in first place, with 795 career rebounds. "It’s a nice honor, and something I’ve worked hard for," Tierney said after the game. "But the more important thing is that we won the game." The Mountain Hawks jumped out to a 9-5 lead, before the Eagles began to apply their full-court trap. American’s pressure created a number of Lehigh turnovers, and the Eagles built a 33-28 advantage at the half, thanks in part to 11 first half points and five first half boards for Chanel Hunt. Senior Hollie Steinman poured in 10 in the first stanza for the Eagles as well. American ran out to an 11 point lead early in the second half, before Lehigh began its rally. Freshman Jessica DePalo (11 points, 9 rebounds) and sophomore Jana Ransom (7 points, 5 boards) came off the bench and played strong defense in the post to lead the Mountain Hawk rally. Carli Toliver – fresh off her career-best five three pointers on Saturday – drained four from long range, and finished with 15 points for Lehigh. The Eagles were led by 17 points from Steinman, 15 from Hunt, and 13 off the bench from Katryn Costenbader. American shot 42% to Lehigh’s 39%, and the Eagles had fewer turnovers than Lehigh, but the Mountain Hawks sank 22 free throws, including 15 in the second half, to seal the come-from-behind victory. After the game, Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan expressed her satisfaction with both Tierney’s accomplishment and the win: "We so often take Anne for granted underneath, it’s nice to see her name at the top spot in the record books," Troyan said. "Our post players came up big for us down the stretch, and they were a big factor in this win," she added. The Lehigh win, coupled with a Bucknell loss at Colgate and a Holy Cross loss at Army, places the Mountain Hawks and Bison in a tie atop the leader board in the league standings. Lehigh travels to Lewisburg to battle Bucknell on Saturday at 1:00. For more information, contact
