Monday, November 17
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
2-0
77
vs
53
East Stroudsburg
0-0
1
2
F
East Stroudsburg
23
30
53
Lehigh
37
40
77
Post players lead Lehigh to 77-53 win over East Stroudsburg in home opener
11/17/2014 9:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A trio of 17-point performances from juniors Kerry Kinek and Elizabeth Sharlow along with sophomore Lexi Martins helped lead the Lehigh women's basketball team to a 77-53 win over East Stroudsburg Monday night at Stabler Arena. The three forwards combined for 51 points and 27 rebounds as the Mountain Hawks secured a 2-0 start to the season for the second-straight year.
"There were some good things and bad things tonight," said head coach Sue Troyan. "There were moments where we looked good and moments where we could have been more focused. Our post players are playing really well together and it's a nice problem to have as a coach when you have three kids who all bring something different to the floor."
Martins, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week, tallied her second-straight double-double with a career-high 17 points and career-best 12 rebounds. Sharlow grabbed nine rebounds to go along with her 17 points, while Kinek recorded six rebounds and 17 points with the help of a 9-for-12 showing from the free-throw line. Senior Katie O'Reilly led the squad with four assists. All 14 Mountain Hawks saw action in the contest as Lehigh held each ESU player to eight points or less.
A layup from freshman Quinci Mann kicked off the contest as Lehigh was quickly able to take a 10-0 lead after holding the Warriors scoreless for the first 6:42 of the game. A Michelle Boggs layup finally put ESU on the board with 14:18 left in the half.
Lehigh extended its lead to 17-4 following layups from Sharlow, Martins and junior Amina Affini at the under-12 media timeout. The Mountain Hawks controlled a 21-8 lead with 9:50 left on the clock, but a pair of Ryann Fiascki free throws sparked an 11-3 Warriors run that spanned 4:29 and saw five points from Madison Tamburini as ESU closed the gap to six at 24-18 with 5:21 left in the half.
Lehigh held onto a six-point lead at 26-20 before a pair of Kinek free throws and a jumper ignited a 9-0 Mountain Hawk run. ESU was able to add on three points before a Sharlow layup in the final second of the half made it 37-23 Lehigh.
The Mountain Hawks shot 48 percent (12-for-25) from the floor in the opening half, but just 14.3 percent (1-for-7) from three-point range and 57.1 percent (12-for-21) from the free throw line.
The Warriors scored the first seven points of the second half with the help of five points from Jessica Martin. A Sharlow three-pointer and Martins conventional three-point play stopped the ESU streak and sparked a 10-2 Lehigh run as the Mountain Hawks were able to lengthen their lead to 15 at 47-32 with 12:11 to play.
Lehigh remained in control the rest of the way and kept its lead in double-digits. With 8:57 left on the clock, a Martins three-pointer sparked another long run for the Mountain Hawks as Lehigh put up 12-straight points and the Mountain Hawks took 2:42 off the clock en route to a 65-41 lead. Lehigh continued to dominate and eventually captured the 77-53 victory.
The Mountain Hawks finished the contest shooting 42.9 percent (24-for-56) from the field and 33.3 percent (5-for-15) from the perimeter. Lehigh sunk 24 of its 35 free-throw attempts and held ESU to 34.8 percent (23-for-66) from the field. The Mountain Hawks held a 51-33 rebounding edge.
The Mountain Hawks have now started the season 2-0 for the second-straight year and just the second time since the 1999-00 season. The victory over the Warriors secured Lehigh's third home-opening win in the last four years.
The Mountain Hawks return to action Friday as Lehigh kicks off a three-game road trip with a 7 p.m. contest at NJIT. Audio coverage will be available on 91.3 WLVR FM and wlvr.org.
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Team Stats
ESU-W
LEHIGH
FG%
.348
.429
3FG%
.111
.333
FT%
.455
.686
RB
33
51
TO
12
17
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
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