Lehigh University
Army
Mountain Hawks come close, but fall to Army 56-53
1/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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WEST POINT, N.Y. – Freshman Alex Ross’ three-pointer with nine seconds remaining pulled the Mountain Hawks to within one point of defending Patriot League champion Army, but the Black Knights (16-2, 3-0) got a pair of clutch free throws by Megan Evans to defeat Lehigh 56-53 at Chrisl Arena on Saturday afternoon. Senior Adrienne Blount led Lehigh with 14 points and seven rebounds as the Mountain Hawks (5-12, 0-3) dropped their fifth straight game.
“As a team, I think we will take a lot away from this game,” said head coach Sue Troyan. “I am proud with how well we played and how competitive we were. The team put forth a great effort for 40 minutes. We had a couple of lapses that did cost us, but this game gave us a great step forward.”
Cara Enright set the tone within the first eight seconds of the game, drilling a three-pointer on the first shot of the game. Senior Sara Ellis responded a minute later with a three-pointer of her own to tie the score at 3-3, but the Black Knights would sink two three-pointers and a jumper to carry an 11-7 lead at the 15:56 mark.
Lehigh would go on an 8-5 scoring run off points from Blount, Ellis and freshman Wendy Szczerbiak to pull within one point of the Black Knights with 11:44 left in the first half.
After a pair of Enright free throws, Ellis tied the game at 18 all at the 11:12 mark. Following a two-and-a-half minute scoring drought by both teams, Szczerbiak’s jumper at 8:38 gave the Mountain Hawks their first lead of the game, making the score 20-18.
Army would retake the lead at the 3:06 mark off an Enright trey, but sophomore Haly Crites’ jumper at 2:20 gave Lehigh a 26-25 advantage. However, Evans' basket at 1:58 sparked a 9-0 Black Knight scoring run to give Army a 34-26 lead going into the half.
Lehigh and Army would trade points in the opening minutes of the second half. Lehigh would come to within four points of the Black Knights with 14:16 remaining, but Army continued to increase its lead, eventually leading 44-36.
However, the Mountain Hawks went on a late second half surge, holding the Black Knights scoreless for over four minutes while scoring eight points. Lehigh pulled to within two points off a jumper by Szczerbiak to make it a 48-46 game with 4:46 left in the game.
Stefanie Stone gave the Black Knights a four point lead 20 seconds later, but Lehigh would cut the deficit back to two points off a jumper by Blount. Army increased its lead to four points again, but Ross brought Lehigh to within two points with 2:26 remaining to make the score 52-50. Courtney Wright’s jumper at 1:51 gave Army another four point lead, but Ross hit her three-pointer to make it a 54-53 game with nine seconds to go.
Enright was 6-for-8 from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, to net a game-high 20 points. Wright pulled down a game-high 12 boards.
Lehigh returns to action when the Mountain Hawks welcome Colgate to Stabler Arena on Tuesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 pm. Live audio of the game will be available in the
Outside Photo (c) 2006, Jeffrey A. Camarati.
