Lehigh University
American
Lehigh goes to 3-0 in league play for first time ever
1/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Washington, DC – Freshman Sara Ellis scored a career high 19 points as Lehigh moved into sole possession of first place in the Patriot League with a 69-55 victory over American at Bender Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, Lehigh goes to 3-0 in Patriot League play for the first time in school history. The Mountain Hawks now sit at 6-9 overall, while American falls to 7-8 overall, 2-1 in Patriot League play.
In the first half, Lehigh came out strong and used a nine-zero run to build an early 9-2 advantage and the lead ballooned to as many as 16, which was the margin at halftime with Lehigh ahead 38-22. The Mountain Hawks were extremely successful from long range in the opening half, particularly Ellis, who connected on four three pointers en route to 12 first half points. As a team, the Mountain Hawks hit seven of ten shots from behind the arc. Junior Jessica DePalo pumped in nine first half points as she hit four of seven shots in the half. DePalo ripped down a team high six boards in the half as well and Ellis led the team with three helpers in the half. Lehigh hit 58 percent of its shots in the opening stanza and held the Eagles to just 39 percent from the field. The Mountain Hawks did commit nine turnovers, but it did not matter as the hot shooting propelled them to the big lead. American was led on offense by Kim Salem with six points and she also grabbed two rebounds. In the second half, the Eagles did make a push on the offensive end, but Lehigh’s defense and foul shooting down the stretch helped the Mountain Hawks come away with the victory. American did cut the Lehigh lead down to six points, but the cool hand of Ellis and sophomore Dawn Gorynski kept the Mountain Hawks ahead for good. DePalo finished with 19 points on the afternoon, while Gorynski hit for 13 and dished out two assists. DePalo pulled down nine boards and had two steals. Lehigh hit 56 percent of its shots on the day and held the Eagles to just 36 percent shooting. Lehigh will now take a step out of conference play as the Mountain Hawks play host to Brown on Tuesday from Stabler Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 and the game can be heard live on Lehigh’s website.
