Friday, November 21
Newark, N.J.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
3-0
74
at
54
NJIT
1-3
1
2
F
Lehigh
35
39
74
NJIT
22
32
54
Lehigh remains undefeated with dominant 74-54 victory at NJIT
11/21/2014 9:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEWARK, N.J. - A pair of double-doubles from junior Kerry Kinek and sophomore Lexi Martins helped the Lehigh women's basketball team to a wire-to-wire 74-54 victory at NJIT Friday evening. The win secures Lehigh's first 3-0 start to the season since the 1995-96 campaign. The Highlanders fall to 1-3 with the loss.
"NJIT is a pretty good team, so to come out of here with a 20-point win is a good result," said head coach Sue Troyan. "It was a good complete game for us and showcased our depth well. It's certainly a great start to the season."
Martins tallied a career high in both points and rebounds for the third-straight game as the Irvington, N.Y. native finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds for her third-consecutive double-double. Kinek finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. The junior passed the 900-point and 500-rebound plateau in the same night as she moved her career totals to 904 points and 503 rebounds.
"Lexi has made the most of her time on the court this season," said Troyan. "Lexi is such a smart player and she's really showing what she's capable of doing. Kerry passing both of those marks so early in her junior year really shows what kind of player she is."
Junior Elizabeth Sharlow also finished in double-figures with 12 points. Freshman Quinci Mann finished the game with five assists, no turnovers, two steals and a block.
Senior Katie O'Reilly scored the first three points of the contest before Kinek added a three-pointer and Martins tossed in a layup to give Lehigh an 8-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest. The Mountain Hawk defense held NJIT scoreless in the Highlanders' first six possessions until a layup from Martina Matejcikova finally put NJIT on the board with 14:58 left on the first-half clock.
The Highlanders pulled within four at 10-6, but back-to-back three pointers from sophomore Kiernan McCloskey and Martins sparked an 11-2 Lehigh run as the Mountain Hawks took a 21-8 advantage with 8:18 left in the opening term. The Highlanders responded with nine unanswered points to narrow Lehigh's lead to four at 21-17.
Kinek scored Lehigh's first basket in three and a half minutes at the 4:46 mark and senior Sarah Williams followed with a pair of free throws as Lehigh closed the opening half on a 14-5 streak to take a 35-22 lead into the locker room.
The Mountain Hawks shot 44.4 percent (12-for-27) from the field in the opening half and 33.3 percent (3-for-9) from three-point range. Lehigh held a commanding 25-11 rebound advantage at the half.
A pair of NJIT free throws opened up the second-half scoring as the Highlanders used a 6-3 streak to pull within ten at 38-28. Martins scored the next five points for Lehigh to give the Mountain Hawks a commanding 43-30 advantage at the first timeout of the second period.
An Alana Dudley three-pointer put the Highlanders back within 10 before three-straight points from Sharlow ignited a 10-2 Lehigh run that saw a three-pointer from freshman Bernadette Devaney and four points from Kinek. The streak helped Lehigh jump out front 56-38 with 8:15 left on the clock.
A McCloskey conventional three-point play and Kinek free throw followed an NJIT layup to give Lehigh its largest yet at 60-40. The Highlanders were never able to get closer than 15 the rest of the way and Lehigh continued to answer every NJIT basket. A jumper from sophomore Kari Moffat ended the contest and secured a 74-54 victory for the Mountain Hawks.
The Mountain Hawks finished the game shooting 46.3 percent (25-for-54) from the field and 29.4 percent (5-for-17) from three-point range. The Highlanders, led by Dudley with 12 points, shot 37.7 percent (20-for-53) from the field. Lehigh held a dominant 45-20 rebound advantage.
The Mountain Hawks remain on the road Tuesday to face Saint Peter's at 7 p.m. before traveling to Sacred Heart on Sunday Nov. 30. Lehigh returns home Dec. 2 to host Hampton on Education Day inside Stabler Arena.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
NJIT
FG%
.463
.377
3FG%
.294
.250
FT%
.655
.846
RB
45
20
TO
18
15
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
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