Saturday, November 19
Stabler Arena
7:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
64
vs
48
Saint Peter's
Lehigh beats Saint Peter's 64-48 in home opener
11/20/2011 1:35:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's basketball team (1-3) defeated Saint Peter's (0-2) 64-48 Saturday in the Mountain Hawks' home opener. Lehigh had three players in double figures as senior Aly Byorick led the way with a game- and season-high 15 points while freshman Katie O'Reilly had a career-high 14 points and senior Alexa Williams had her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
“It was a good win for us as we executed well on both ends of the floor,” said head coach Sue Troyan. “We head a real nice defensive game and we did a great job rebounding. We got a lot of good looks, but we have to do a little better job of finishing those. I thought Aly hitting shots from the perimeter was nice to see and it helped open up our inside game.”
Lehigh had its highest scoring output of the season in part thanks to its highest three-point field goal percentage of the year (35%) as the Mountain Hawks drained a season-high seven three's with four of those coming off the hand of Byorick.
Saint Peter's actually had a higher field goal percentage for the game, shooting 30 percent while Lehigh shot 28.6 percent from the field but Lehigh dominated the rest of the stats. The Mountain Hawks outrebounded Saint Peter's 52-42 including 20-13 on the offensive glass and the Lehigh forced 21 Peahens turnovers while committing 17. Lehigh also took advantage of Saint Peter's aggressive defense as the Mountain Hawks outscored the Peahens by 15 on the charity stripe. Lehigh was 21-for-29 while Saint Peter's was 6-for-13.
In the first half, Lehigh built a 13-2 lead halfway through the opening half with O'Reilly accounting for four of those points. Lehigh continued to maintain its lead as the Mountain Hawks started to heat up from behind the arc. Byorick hit back-to-back threes - the second a four-point play - to extend a 19-10 edge to 26-10 with 3:20 to go in the half. Saint Peter's picked up its aggression on defense as the Peahens went on 8-2 run to finish out the half as Lehigh led 28-18 at the break.
Lehigh shot 22.2 percent from the field but was 5-for-14 from behind the arc for a 35.7 percent clip while Saint Peter's shot 29.6 percent and was 2-for-8 from behind the arc. The Mountain Hawks forced 11 Saint Peter's turnovers while committing just five and Lehigh also had the edge at the free-throw line as the Mountain Hawks were 7-for-12 from the charity stripe and the Peahens missed their lone attempt.
Out of halftime, Saint Peter's hit a three to immediately cut the deficit to seven but then Lehigh went on a 7-0 run to extend its lead back to 14 thanks to a pair of free throws from junior Sarah Pearce, a layup by Williams and a three-point play by O'Reilly.
The Mountain Hawks' double-digit lead held steady until the Peahens picked up the pace of the game to cut a 13-point deficit to just seven with 7:22 to go in the game. Looking like momentum may have shifted in Saint Peter's favor, Lehigh immediately put a stop to the Peahens' run as junior Becky Guman nailed a three pointer in the left corner to extend the Mountain Hawks lead to 10 with seven minutes to go.
“Saint Peter's made a run and we've talked about this being a game of runs,” said Troyan. “It's important to withstand them and Guman's three was big to respond right away. That was important for us late in the game and it was important for this team going forward.”
Lehigh was still clinging to a nine-point lead with 5:34 to go, but O'Reilly made a layup on the next possession to give Lehigh an 11-point edge that would never dip back into single digits. Lehigh went on a 6-0 run to end the game for a 19-point victory.
O'Reilly added a career-high eight rebounds and added three steals while Williams was in double-figure scoring for the fourth straight game. Weaver lead the offense with six of Lehigh's 11 assists.
Saint Peter's was led by Kristal Edwards and Aminah Davis whom both scored 10 points while Edwards added seven rebounds.
Lehigh improved to 2-0 over Saint Peter's and 32-19 against the MAAC.
The Mountain Hawks' first three games of the season were on the road before returning to Stabler Arena Saturday and Lehigh will head back out on the road as it travels to Piscataway, N.J. Tuesday to face No. 15/15 Rutgers at 7:30 p.m.
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