Lehigh University
Navy
Mountain Hawks defend home court against Navy
2/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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The Midshipmen fall to 12-12 on the season with a 5-4 record in the Patriot League after the loss.
“They were really disappointed after the American game (on Saturday) but they know what they have to do,” Troyan said. “They know the importance of every game right now and they knew the importance of protecting their home floor, so I knew that they would be up for it. “
Prosser led all scorers with 15 points to go along with four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Ross put up 13 points and four rebounds in a team-high 29 minutes for the Brown and White. Lehigh shot 41.8 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from downtown as it connected on six 3-pointers in the game – all from Prosser and Ross.
But it was the total depth that Lehigh exhibited that helped the Mountain Hawks pull away in the second half. Nine different players scored in the game, and four scored at least eight points to give Lehigh a balanced attack all night.
“We played great,” Ross said. “Our posts really stepped up and grabbed a lot of rebounds. It was one of those nights where everyone was scoring and chipping in.”
Claire Sullivan contributed off the bench with two points and a game-high eight assists as she helped spark the Mountain Hawks on both ends of the floor. The fifth-year guard stripped the ball from K.C. Gordon and went coast to coast for the layup to put the Brown and White a 28-27 lead with 1:16 to play in the first.
“I was coming in at end of first half and I wanted to give us a spark off the bench heading into halftime. I got that steal just by anticipating where they were going in the high post. I had my two and three running the lanes really hard and they allowed me to get to the rim for the layup because they didn’t help off our 3-point shooters. I was thinking pass the whole time until the absolute last minute but I knew if I didn’t take the layup I’d be making a bad play.”
On the next possession, Sullivan poked the ball away from Kalen Kropa for another turnover, and a Tricia Smith layup on the other end extended the lead to three points.
Angela Myers led the Midshipmen with a double-double, including 14 points and 12 rebounds. The sophomore also added a team-high six assists in the losing effort.
Both teams put on a shooting exhibition from long range in the first half. Both Lehigh and American actually shot better from behind the 3-point line in the opening 20 minutes than either did from the field overall. The Midshipmen connected on four of seven shots from downtown (57.1 percent) and the Mountain Hawks buried four of eight triples (50 percent) in the period.
Lehigh and Army traded the lead back and forth six times in the period as each school connected on better than 40 percent of their field goals in the first.
Erica Prosser and Alex Ross each hit two 3-pointers in the first half to lead the Mountain Hawks with 10 and six points, respectively, as Lehigh opened up a 32-29 lead at the intermission. The Mountain Hawks would never relinquish that lead in the second half as they outscored the Midshipmen 34-19 in the final 20 minutes.
“The biggest difference was the depth that we have, in particular in the post position,” Troyan said. “We told the kids at halftime, that we were good and that the game plan was working. We knew they were going to play hard and play tough but we didn’t feel like they had the depth to match our depth.”
Lehigh only led by three points with 16:33 remaining, but a technical foul called on Angela Myers helped spur a 7-2 run that extended the lead. The Midshipmen clawed back to within five points, 46-41, with 8:51 remaining, but a 20-4 Lehigh run put the game away for good.
Lehigh returns to action on Saturday when the Brown and White hosts Army at 7 p.m. in Stabler Arena. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game to support the Pink Day initiative to support breast cancer research and awareness. Fans can also buy a pink t-shirt on Lehighsports.com and at the arena on Saturday with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer.
Bonus points: Lehigh has now won its last 10 games following a loss dating back to last season…The Mountain Hawks are 11-0 at home for the first time since 1989-90 when they went 14-0 in Stabler Arena…Lehigh swept the season series with Navy for the second straight year.
Video courtesy Service Electric 2 Sports
