Wednesday, January 15
Washington, D.C
7:00:00 PM

Lehigh University

at

American

Kerry Kinek

Lehigh heads to American for midweek matchup

1/14/2014 11:34:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes | Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats
 
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Lehigh women's basketball team looks to get back on track when the Mountain Hawks head to the nation's capital to face Patriot League foe American on Wednesday evening inside Bender Arena. Fans can watch for free on the Patriot League Network and listen live on 91.3 WLVR or wlvr.org.
 
The Mountain Hawks couldn't hold off a Loyola comeback on Saturday and fell to the Greyhounds, 70-64.  Lehigh led by as much as seven in the final half, but Loyola strung together a late 10-0 run with the help of hot three-point shooting to take a 66-61 lead with just 32 seconds remaining.
 
Sophomore Elizabeth Sharlow led the Mountain Hawks with 13 points, followed by classmate Kerry Kinek with 12 and a team-leading seven rebounds. Junior Katie O'Reilly finished with 11 points, which included seven tallies from the free throw line. O'Reilly also dished a team-leading five assists. Loyola's Nai Brown led all players with 25 points, while Nicole Krusen chipped in 15 on five three-pointers, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:12 to play.
 
Lehigh finished the game shooting 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the floor and 28.6 percent (4-for-14) from three-point range. The Greyhounds shot 48.0 percent (24-for-50) from the field and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from long distance, highlighted by a 58.3 percent (7-for-12) clip from downtown in the second half. Loyola held a slim 33-31 rebound advantage, but the Mountain Hawks forced 26 Greyhound turnovers.
 
Kinek leads the Mountain Hawks this season with 17.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Freshman Kayla Burton averages a team-leading 3.0 assists per game and an impressive 43.7 three-point shooting percentage.
 
The Eagles carry a 3-1 league record that is part of a 10-5 overall mark into Wednesday's game. American's only league loss of the season came by a 63-60 score against Holy Cross on Jan. 5.
 
In their most recent contest, the Eagles had three players reach double-figures in a 72-55 win over Colgate on Saturday afternoon. Alexis Dobbs led American with a game-high 21 points, going 6-of-9 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range. Michelle Holmes added 12, hitting all five of her attempts from the floor, and Arron Zimmerman chipped in ten points.
 
The Eagles completed the afternoon shooting 48.9 percent from the field, going 9-for-16 from three-point range, while the Raiders shot 34.5 percent and were 9-of-23 from beyond the arc.
 
Dobbs' 14.2 points per game leads the Eagles, while Zimmerman's 4.8 boards per game is a team best. Dobbs has also tallied a team-leading 78 assists so far this season.
 
American's +10.7 scoring margin is the largest positive margin in the league and the Eagles' field goal percentage defense of 35.4 percent also sits atop the league charts. American also owns the best turnover margin (+2.80) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3) in the league. The Eagles are tied for last in the league in blocked shots, averaging 2.1 per game.
 
The Mountain Hawks broke a five-game losing streak on the season and a four-game skid against the Eagles with a 71-55 victory at American in the most recent contest between the Mountain Hawks and Eagles.
 
Kinek and Becky Guman each chipped in 20 points and 11 rebounds, a pair of career-highs for Guman, in the victory. Lehigh was able to get out to a quick lead over the Eagles, riding a 39-23 advantage into halftime. American closed the gap several times down the final stretch, but Lehigh knocked down clutch baskets to keep the Eagles at a safe distance and claim the road win.
 
The Mountain Hawks shot 43 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc with four treys coming via Guman's touch. Lehigh more than doubled American in the rebounding facet, pulling down 51 boards to the Eagles' 24, while outscoring the home team 28-26 in the paint.
 
American holds a 20-12 all-time advantage over Lehigh and has won four of the past five meetings.
 
Lehigh will return home to Stabler Arena on Saturday to host Holy Cross in a 2 p.m. game. The contest can be viewed for free on the Patriot League Network and fans can purchase tickets by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.
 
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