Lehigh University
Holy Cross
Lehigh loses first league game to Crusaders
1/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh was handed its first Patriot League loss on Friday evening as the Mountain Hawks fell to Holy Cross 71-68 at Stabler Arena. Junior Jessica DePalo recorded her sixth double double of the season as she hit for 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while freshman Sara Ellis scored a career high 21 points, but it wasn’t enough. With the loss, Lehigh falls to 8-11 on the season, 5-1 in Patriot League play, while the Crusaders improve to 9-10, 4-2 in league action.
The game was tight through the first ten minutes, but Holy Cross went on a 13-0 run, which started at the 10:09 mark of the first stanza, and increased its lead to 14. Lehigh would cut the lead to nine, 36-27, as the teams retired to the locker rooms at the half. The Mountain Hawks had a tough time holding onto the ball in the first twenty minutes, turning the ball over 17 times, and they also only shot 36 percent from the floor. But, Ellis pumped in 13 first-half tallies, as she hit five of ten shots from the floor and helped keep Lehigh in it. Lisa Andrews scored 12 points to lead the Crusaders, hitting five of nine from the floor along the way.
Lehigh spent the second half playing catch up, as the Mountain Hawks clawed away at the lead, cutting it to one with 11:35, but as they did all night, the Crusaders had an answer and were able to push the advantage back up to ten with just under six minutes remaining. Lehigh continued to fight back and got to within one at 69-68 with 43 seconds remaining, but Holy Cross hit its free throws down the stretch and were up three with three tenths of a second remaining. Sophomore Dawn Gorynski threw up a desperation shot at the buzzer, but it fell short and Lehigh was defeated.
The Mountain Hawks were without the lead since the 13:24 mark of the first half, but still fought hard and kept it close throughout. Senior Jana Ransom had one of her best games of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing six rebounds. Gorynski dished out two assists and played solid defense all game, while freshman Adrienne Blount came off of the bench and stole the ball three times.
Lehigh returns to action on Sunday when the Mountain Hawks host Colgate from Stabler Arena. Tip-off is set for 12:30 and tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME.
