EASTON, Pa. – Junior Sara Ellis had a chance to tie the game, but her three-pointer was off the mark as the Mountain Hawks fell to their archrivals 67-64 on Saturday afternoon at the Kirby Sports Center. Senior Jenny Callan led the Brown and White with 18 points and 11 boards, while Ellis and Adrienne Blount both tallied 14 on the afternoon. Lehigh falls to 7-11 following the defeat and 2-3 in league action, while the Leopards improve to 6-11 overall and 1-3 in league play.
Lehigh shot 40 percent from the field on Saturday, including a 50 percent showing in the second half, but an 18 of 32 performance at the free throw line and a 2 of 13 day from beyond the arc were too much to overcome. The Leopards sunk 41 percent of their shots, including 46 percent from downtown, led by Kristin Doherty’s four of five night from the three-point arc. Doherty finished with a game-high 21 points, while Lindsay Myers added 15. Claire Sullivan handed out a team-high four assists for Lehigh, while Tricia Smith recorded two steals.
“You have to give Lafayette credit today for the way they kept their composure down the stretch,” explained head coach Sue Troyan following the game. “They executed and did not fold when we made our run [late in the game].”
The Mountain Hawks went up by three at the 16:40 mark on a lay up by Callan, but it was short lived as Doherty sunk a three on Lafayette’s next possession to tie the score at eight. The game was tied on five different occasions, the last time coming with 10:20 left in the half when Myers connected on a jumper.
Lafayette went up by five when Kara Stetler sank a three with 7:50 to go in the half, but Lehigh came right back, slicing the deficit to just two when Smith put in a lay up. From there, the teams traded baskets, with freshman Melissa Rich nailing a jumper with 51 seconds left to make the score 31-27 in favor of Lafayette heading into halftime.
The score remained close throughout the second half, with Lafayette able to extend its lead to as many as seven with 13:27 remaining when Vanessa Van De Venter scored on a lay up. The Mountain Hawks came back again however, as Smith scored a bucket and Callan sunk a jumper to make the score 45-41 in favor of Lafayette with 9:45 to go. A free throw from Sullivan and a lay up by Ellis made it a one-point affair with 8:39 to go, and when Ellis drilled a deep three on the next possession, Lehigh crept ahead 47-45 with 8:01 left in the contest.
From there though, Lafayette went on a run of its own, pushing its lead to seven on a three-pointer by Doherty with 3:53 left. A lay up and a pair of free throws from Blount cut the deficit to just three with 2:12 remaining, and after Callan hit a lay up and the ensuing free throw, Lehigh was behind by just one. Two free throws by Stetler put the home team up by three, setting the stage for Elli’s long range attempt, but the ball bounced off of the back of the rim, and the Mountain Hawks suffered their third loss in league play.
Lehigh will be back in action on Saturday, January 28 when the Mountain Hawks welcome Holy Cross to Stabler Arena. Game time is set for 5:05 and tickets can be purchased at the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office at Grace Hall during normal business hours, by calling 610-7LU-GAME or at anytime on lehighsports.com.
