Bethlehem,
PA – Despite a strong effort on both ends of the floor and three players in double figures, Lehigh fell to
Delaware in the finals of the Christmas City Classic 65-51 on Thursday evening at Stabler Arena.
Senior
Jessica DePalo, who garnered All-Tournament laurels, led the Mountain Hawks with 17 points and six boards while the Blue Hens were led by tournament MVP Tiara Malcom’s 14 tallies.
With the loss, Lehigh falls to 7-3 on the season, while
Delaware improves to 7-2.
The Mountain Hawks connected on 44 percent of their shots in the first half, but trailed at the half 33-23. Delaware shot 38 percent from the field and forced 11 Lehigh turnovers. The Brown and White was led by Adrienne Blount’s ten points on four of five shooting in the opening stanza, while Sara Ellis connected on three field goals for seven tallies. Blount also ripped down a team high three rebounds in the half and Chantal St. Laurent handed out two assists.
The Blue Hens were led by Tiffany Young’s eight points on four of seven shooting and she also pulled down five caroms in the half. Delaware received 15 points from its bench, while Lehigh had ten points contributed from the non-starters in the first twenty minutes of action.
In the second half, Delaware’s hot shooting allowed the Blue Hens to pull ahead and establish a comfortable cushion. However, Lehigh would not go away as it would continually cut into the Blue Hen lead and even trimmed it to single digits with seven minutes remaining. However Delaware simply had too much on offense and secured the victory. Ellis finished with 16 points, while Blount played tough on the interior all evening, finishing with 13 points and five caroms.
The Blue Hens shot 42 percent for the nigh while Lehigh ended at 38 percent, but just 25 from behind the arc. Lehigh was out rebounded 42-32 and turned the ball over 15 times, compared to UD’s ten.
Lehigh returns to action on Monday evening when the Mountain Hawks travel to New York City to take on Columbia. Game time is set for 7:00 and all of the action will be broadcast live on 91.3 FM WLVR with Jeff Tourial. The game can also be heard on Lehigh’s website at lehighsports.com with live streaming provided by Yahoo! Sports.
2004 Christmas City Classic All-Tournament Team:
Lauren Hill (Alabama)
Chinenye Okafor (Yale)
Jessica DePalo (Lehigh)
Tyresa Smith (Delaware)
Tiara Malcom (Delaware) – Most Valuable Player
