Lehigh University
Yale
Lehigh hangs on for overtime win
1/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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NEW HAVEN,
“I give our kids a lot of credit for the way they stayed in the game and continued to fight,” said head coach Sue Troyan. “Alex hit some big shots for us as she continues to be terrific. Overall it was just another great defensive effort creating turnovers and creating points off those turnovers.”
Lehigh hung closely with Yale in the first half, never trailing by more than eight points. The Bulldogs took a 20-13 advantage thanks to three straight three-pointers from Mady Gobretch and Jamie Van Horne. However, the Mountain Hawks would not wait in the wings, as Alex Ross put Lehigh back in the game with three, three-pointers to cut the deficit to 27-25, at the 1:37 mark. Courtney Dentler added a layup with 32 seconds remaining to tie the score heading into halftime.
Lehigh put together a strong shooting half, connecting on 34.4% of its shots. However, the team struggled defensively, an area where they usually excel, allowing the Bulldogs to shoot 42.9% from the field and 50% from three-point range.
In the second half the teams battled back and forth for the first four minutes, as the score was tied 32-32 at the 16:23 mark. Lehigh went on a 13-point run over the next four minutes, to take a 45-32 lead. Yale slowly made its way back into the game, outscoring the Brown and White 19-9, to cut the lead down to 54-51 with 21 seconds remaining.
The Bulldogs Lindsey Williams hit an off-balance three-pointer with nine seconds remaining to tie the game and send it to overtime.
In the extra period Lehigh took over, scoring 13 points and out-rebounding Yale, 10-1, led by Crites with five.
“We made a point of staying strong on defense tonight,” said Crites. “We knew if we played good defense our offense would come along.”
Lehigh’s defense held Yale to just 32.1% shooting in the second half and 25% in overtime.
Tricia Smith ended the game one rebound shy of her second double-double of the year, with 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Bulldogs were led by Williams with 14 points and six rebounds. Melissa Colborne chipped in with 12 points and Yoyo Greenfield added 10 points.
The Mountain Hawks will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Penn for their final non-conference game of the season, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. The game can be heard live in the
