Saturday, January 18
2:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
9-8, 2-4PL
87
vs
82
Holy Cross
11-6, 3-3PL
1
2
F
Holy Cross
42
40
82
Lehigh
49
38
87
Mountain Hawks use balanced effort to capture 87-82 win over Crusaders
1/18/2014 4:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's basketball team recorded its highest scoring first half of the season en route to an 87-82 win over Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena. Seven Mountain Hawks scored seven or more points as a balanced attack was able to hold off a Crusader comeback attempt. With the win, Lehigh snapped a four-game skid to improve to 9-8 overall and 2-4 in Patriot League play, while Holy Cross (11-6, 3-3 PL) fell for the third straight time.
"I'm very pleased with the effort today," said head coach Sue Troyan. "It was a very hard-fought win and they competed hard. Holy Cross played until the end and I'm pleased with the way we executed down the stretch and got it done."
Junior Sarah Williams led the Mountain Hawks with a career-high 16 points and also dished four assists. Sophomore Elizabeth Jordan netted a career-high 12 points on 4-of-5 from three-point range, while junior Katie O'Reilly also chipped in 12. Senior Lindsay Hoskins finished with 11 points and a team-leading four steals. Sophomore Kerry Kinek recorded her second double-double of the season with ten points and ten rebounds.
"We used our depth really well," Troyan said. "We had five kids in double figures and a lot of kids who contributed to the scoring. We did a good job of sharing the ball."
"I'm particularly happy with Lindsay's performance," Troyan continued. "She gave the team a great defensive presence and energy and really gave the team what they needed today."
Holy Cross was led by Raquel Scott with 23 points, followed by Alex Smith with 19. Lisa Misfud (15) and Molly Hourigan (12) also scored in double figures for the Crusaders.
Lehigh finished the game shooting 43.2 percent (32-for-74) from the field, highlighted by a 46.3 percent (19-for-41) clip in the first half. The Mountain Hawks shot 42.9 percent (6-for14) from three-point range in the opening half. Holy Cross finished the game shooting 45.1 percent (32-for-71) from the floor. The Crusaders held a slim 46-45 rebound advantage, but the Mountain Hawks forced 21 Holy Cross turnovers compared to Lehigh's 16. The Lehigh bench scored 39 points, compared to Holy Cross' 11.
The teams exchanged runs in the beginning of the game, but Lehigh was able to take an 11-7 lead at the first media timeout following a string of eight unanswered points. The Mountain Hawks led 21-16 before back-to-back three-pointers from Jordan extended the Lehigh lead.
With Lehigh up 33-25 following another Jordan three-pointer, Holy Cross was able to put together eight straight points to knot the score at 33 with 6:40 left in the opening term. Four straight Mountain Hawk free-throws sparked a 14-2 run that was capped off with an O'Reilly layup to take a commanding 47-35 lead with 3:48 on the clock. The Crusaders closed out the half on a 7-2 run of their own to put the score at 49-42 headed into halftime. The half marked Lehigh's highest scoring first half of the season, following their lowest scoring half (19 points) at American in Lehigh's last contest.
Holy Cross was able to pull within three at 51-48 just under two minutes into the second half. Lehigh responded with a 9-2 run that featured six points from Williams to once again take a 60-50 lead with 14:49 to play.
The Mountain Hawks were still up by ten with 6:04 to play, but Holy Cross began to put together a late rally. The Crusaders slowly chipped away at the Lehigh lead and used five straight points from Smith to pull within four at 81-77 with under two minutes remaining. Each team tossed in a layup and two Hoskins free throws followed. The Holy Cross three-pointer pulled the Crusaders within three, but there were only two second left on the clock. Two Williams free-throws closed out the contest as Lehigh claimed the 87-82 win.
The Mountain Hawks will remain home to host two-time defending Patriot League champion Navy on Wednesday evening at Stabler Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game 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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Team Stats
HOLYCR~1
LEHIGH
FG%
.451
.432
3FG%
.353
.364
FT%
.600
.556
RB
46
45
TO
21
16
STL
6
12
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
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