Lehigh topples Rhode Island, 65-57, to claim third straight win

Saturday, November 23

Kingston, R.I.

4:30:00 PM

Lehigh University

5-1

Rhode Island

0-5

Lehigh

Rhode Island

Lehigh topples Rhode Island, 65-57, to claim third straight win

11/23/2013 7:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. – The Lehigh women's basketball team claimed its third straight win Saturday afternoon at Rhode Island when the Mountain Hawks defeated the Rams 65-57. Freshman Kayla Burton and sophomore Amina Affini both contributed career-high point efforts while sophomore Kerry Kinek recorded her 500th career point.

"I thought they played well, especially defensively, in the second half," said head coach Sue Troyan. "Amina played great for us when we really needed her and gave us the cushion that we needed. It's really nice to see other kids step up when our leading scorers were having a bit of an off night."

With the win, Lehigh has accumulated three road wins this season to begin 3-0 away from home for the first time since the 1984-85 season. That squad defeated Philadelphia Textile (77-60), Allentown (61-42) and Marywood (76-41) to open the season away from home. Lehigh also improved to 2-1 all-time versus the Rams.

Burton notched 14 points while Affini chipped in 13. Kinek's 12 points gave her the 500th point of her career with 9:02 to play. Junior Katie O'Reilly tallied 11 points, while senior Lindsay Hoskins and sophomore Elizabeth Sharlow tossed in six apiece.

The Mountain Hawks finished the game shooting 47.9 percent (23-for-48) from the floor and 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from three-point range. Lehigh held Rhode Island to 35.7 percent (20-for-56) from the field while also forcing 22 Rhody turnovers. The Rams out-rebounded Lehigh 42-29.

Each team's offense started out slowly as the game was tied at six with 15:27 to play in the opening half. The Rams took a 9-6 lead on a three-pointer from Tayra Melendez but Lehigh was able to jump ahead 12-9 thanks to a Burton three-pointer and an added three points from Kinek. The teams each netted another 13 points to put the score at 25-22 in favor of the Mountain Hawks with 2:45 to play in the first half. A Rhode Island free throw followed by a two-point jumper tied the score at 25 before a last-second free throw shot put the Rams ahead 26-25 going into halftime.

Affini opened the second half with two made three-pointers, but Rhody wouldn't let up and still held a one point lead, 32-31, with 15:32 to play. Lehigh began to heat up when Williams tossed in a layup with 15:17 to play that sparked a string of seven unanswered Lehigh points over the next minute and a half to give the Mountain Hawks a 38-32 lead.

Rhode Island then began to heat up and sinking its own shots, but the Mountain Hawks still remained in control with 9:30 to play and a 49-45 lead. Kinek hit a jumper with 9:02 to play to sink her 500th career point in just her 36th game. Lehigh extended its lead to eight at 56-48 with 6:25 to play thanks to five straight points from Affini.

The Mountain Hawk defense continued to shutdown Rhody's offense, keeping them scoreless for almost four minutes until Kallie Banker sunk two free throws with 4:42 to play to put the score at 58-50 in favor of Lehigh. Rhody grabbed seven more points, but had no choice but to keep sending Lehigh to the line where the Mountain Hawks were able to score seven points and secure the 65-57win.

The Mountain Hawks now begin preparation for a Wednesday night showdown with Ohio State in Columbus. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be Lehigh's final game until Dec. 9 when the Mountain Hawks return to Stabler Arena to take on Saint Peter's.

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