Lehigh University
Bucknell
Prosser’s second half leads Lehigh to victory
2/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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LEWISBURG, Pa. – Erica Prosser scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half to lead Lehigh to a 55-48 victory over Bucknell Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. Tricia Smith had a team- and career-high 18 points and six steals for the Mountain Hawks, as they now improve to 17-11 (9-4), while Bucknell falls to 12-15 (7-6).
“It was a great effort by the team,” said head coach Sue Troyan, “we played our worst game of the year on Saturday [against
In the first half, it was a 6-6 tie after the first four minutes, but Bucknell rolled off six straight points, to take a 12-6 lead with 13:46 to play. Lehigh answered back with a 6-0 run of its own, to tie the game at 12-12 with 8:17 remaining in the half.
The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes, but the Bison received a big three-pointer from Amanda Brown, to take a 19-14 lead with 3:41 to play. The Mountain Hawks received a jumper from Alex Ross to cut the deficit to 19-16.
Bucknell responded with two more field goals, to take a 23-16 with just over a minute to play in the half. Melissa Rich knocked down a jumper with 49 seconds left to make the score 23-19. Lehigh forced a shot clock violation on Bucknell’s next possession, to give the Mountain Hawks the final possession of the half. Lehigh made the most of it, as Tricia Smith put in a jump shot as the clock expired, and Lehigh went into the half down 23-20.
Smith had a team high six points for the Brown and White, while Hope Foster led all scorers with eight points. Foster also added a half high eight rebounds for the Bison, who out-rebounded Lehigh 18-15.
The Mountain Hawks took their first lead of the game, 26-25, on a field goal by Prosser, at 17:37 of the second half. It was the first of four straight field goals by Prosser, as Lehigh took a 32-28 lead with 14:53 to play.
“[Prosser] was really feeling it tonight,” added Troyan. “She didn’t play her best in the first half but came back and had a tremendous second half.”
The Mountain Hawks maintained their lead for the rest of the half, not allowing the Bison to come within four points. Lehigh held Bucknell to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half, while the Brown and White connected on 48.3 percent of its shots.
Rich ended with a team high nine rebounds, as Lehigh out-rebounded Bucknell 11-7 on the offensive end, but lost the overall battle 35-32.
Foster had a team high 14 points and 13 rebounds, but was held without a field goal in the second half.
Lehigh returns to action for its final regular season game on Saturday at Holy Cross. The game can be heard live on 91.3 WLVR-FM and Lehighsports.com, with streaming provided by Yahoo! Sports. Steve Lomangino will call the action, with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m.
