Saturday, March 6
Worcester, Mass.
2:30:00 PM
Lehigh University
72
vs
58
Bucknell
Mountain Hawks advance to semis with a 72-58 win
3/6/2010 11:26:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. – Lehigh fought off another slow start and defeated the No. 8 seed Bucknell Bison 72-58 in quarterfinal action of the 2010 Patriot League Tournament Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center. The Mountain Hawks have now won a Patriot League record 27 games and tied the record for consecutive victories with 14. Junior Courtney Dentler tied her career-high with 17 points to lead the Brown and White's offensive attack as four players finished in double figures. The Mountain Hawks are now 27-3 on the season and will face the No. 5 seed Holy Cross Crusaders in the semifinals Sunday at 1 p.m. With the loss Bucknell finishes the season at 7-21.
"It was a good win today," head coach Sue Troyan said. "Bucknell had a great game plan and executed it well, but our kids responded."
She continued on how the team adjusted at the half. "It was a point of emphasis at halftime that we had to shut down (Joyce) Novacek. We challenged the post players to step up and we adjusted a little to give them more help. The entire team adjusted well and I thought we played tougher in the second half."
Sophomore Emily Gratch scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half as Lehigh out-scored the Bison 42-26 after the break to get the win. Junior Erica Prosser (12) and senior Alex Ross (10) also scored in double figures. The Mountain Hawks shot 54 percent in the second half as they finished the game shooting 45 percent. Senior Tricia Smith pulled down a team-high five rebounds, but Lehigh lost the battle on the boards 39-25.
Despite a great effort from junior Joyce Novacek, Bucknell couldn't pull off the upset. Novacek finished with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bison. Her classmate Cosima Higham (11) and sophomore Trisha Krewson (10) were the other Bison to finish in double figures.
Bucknell was able to jump out to a 6-2 lead to start the game, but Lehigh came right back and took an 8-6 lead off a Dentler layup and free throw. The Brown and White held a 17-16 lead with 11:48 left in the half, but Lehigh had no answer for Novacek who scored the first 11 points for the Bison. With exactly four minutes left in the half the Mountain Hawks had a 25-22 lead, but Bucknell used an 8-2 run to grab a three-point lead. A jumper by Krewson with 20 seconds left gave the Bison a 32-30 lead at the break.
Lehigh was led by Dentler who was 4-for-5 from the field and had 10 points. The Mountain Hawks shot 37 percent in the half, which included 21 percent from beyond the arc. Lehigh struggled on the boards as it got out-rebounded 24-10, but did force 13 turnovers.
It was the Novacek show in the first half for Bucknell, as she was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and dropped in 19 points. Bucknell shot lights out as it finished at 58 percent.
Bucknell got the first field goal of the second half, but its lead didn't last long as Lehigh used a 9-2 run to take a 39-34 lead. Ross scored her first points of the game during that stretch as she connected on two long three-pointers. Like they've done in the last three games, the Mountain Hawks took control of the second half and they wouldn't relinquish the lead the rest of the way. The Brown and White had a 54-46 lead with 11:58 left, but Bucknell didn't give up. With 8:26 left in the game the Bison came within three at 56-53, but Lehigh kept up the pressure.
The Mountain Hawks took their largest lead of the game at 63-53 with 5:52 left and had at least a 10-point lead for the rest of the game.
The Brown and White will take on Holy Cross for the second consecutive weekend and Troyan believes it helps playing the Crusaders two weeks in a row. "They don't have a true post game, so we'll have to make sure to defend the perimeter well." We saw them a week ago and were pretty confident in our game plan because we were able to execute it last weekend."
Lehigh will be back in action Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. against the host and fifth seed Holy Cross in the Hart Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1230-1320 and Lehighsports.com with Jeff Tourial beginning at 12:45 p.m.
"It was a good win today," head coach Sue Troyan said. "Bucknell had a great game plan and executed it well, but our kids responded."
She continued on how the team adjusted at the half. "It was a point of emphasis at halftime that we had to shut down (Joyce) Novacek. We challenged the post players to step up and we adjusted a little to give them more help. The entire team adjusted well and I thought we played tougher in the second half."
Sophomore Emily Gratch scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half as Lehigh out-scored the Bison 42-26 after the break to get the win. Junior Erica Prosser (12) and senior Alex Ross (10) also scored in double figures. The Mountain Hawks shot 54 percent in the second half as they finished the game shooting 45 percent. Senior Tricia Smith pulled down a team-high five rebounds, but Lehigh lost the battle on the boards 39-25.
Despite a great effort from junior Joyce Novacek, Bucknell couldn't pull off the upset. Novacek finished with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bison. Her classmate Cosima Higham (11) and sophomore Trisha Krewson (10) were the other Bison to finish in double figures.
Bucknell was able to jump out to a 6-2 lead to start the game, but Lehigh came right back and took an 8-6 lead off a Dentler layup and free throw. The Brown and White held a 17-16 lead with 11:48 left in the half, but Lehigh had no answer for Novacek who scored the first 11 points for the Bison. With exactly four minutes left in the half the Mountain Hawks had a 25-22 lead, but Bucknell used an 8-2 run to grab a three-point lead. A jumper by Krewson with 20 seconds left gave the Bison a 32-30 lead at the break.
Lehigh was led by Dentler who was 4-for-5 from the field and had 10 points. The Mountain Hawks shot 37 percent in the half, which included 21 percent from beyond the arc. Lehigh struggled on the boards as it got out-rebounded 24-10, but did force 13 turnovers.
It was the Novacek show in the first half for Bucknell, as she was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and dropped in 19 points. Bucknell shot lights out as it finished at 58 percent.
Bucknell got the first field goal of the second half, but its lead didn't last long as Lehigh used a 9-2 run to take a 39-34 lead. Ross scored her first points of the game during that stretch as she connected on two long three-pointers. Like they've done in the last three games, the Mountain Hawks took control of the second half and they wouldn't relinquish the lead the rest of the way. The Brown and White had a 54-46 lead with 11:58 left, but Bucknell didn't give up. With 8:26 left in the game the Bison came within three at 56-53, but Lehigh kept up the pressure.
The Mountain Hawks took their largest lead of the game at 63-53 with 5:52 left and had at least a 10-point lead for the rest of the game.
The Brown and White will take on Holy Cross for the second consecutive weekend and Troyan believes it helps playing the Crusaders two weeks in a row. "They don't have a true post game, so we'll have to make sure to defend the perimeter well." We saw them a week ago and were pretty confident in our game plan because we were able to execute it last weekend."
Lehigh will be back in action Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. against the host and fifth seed Holy Cross in the Hart Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1230-1320 and Lehighsports.com with Jeff Tourial beginning at 12:45 p.m.
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