Lehigh falls at three-time defending champion Navy

Wednesday, February 19

Annapolis, Md.

7:00:00 PM

Lehigh University

11-14 / 4-10

Navy

21-5 / 13-2

Lehigh

Navy

Lehigh falls at three-time defending champion Navy

2/19/2014 9:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – First-place Navy used strong three-point shooting and several large runs to capture a 79-59 win over the Lehigh women's basketball team Wednesday evening inside Alumni Hall. With the loss, Lehigh falls to 11-14 overall and 4-10 in the Patriot League, while the Mids improve to 21-5 overall and 13-2 in the league.

"We did some things well in the first half and really hung in there," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I give Navy a lot of credit. They shot lights out from three-point range in the first half which really opened up the game."

Freshman Lexi Martins led Lehigh with a career-high 13 points and also pulled down seven rebounds. Sophomores Kerry Kinek and Elizabeth Sharlow each tallied 11 points, while classmate Amina Affini notched ten. Freshman Kiernan McCloskey chipped in six points and seven rebounds.

"I thought Lexi and Kiernan both had great games," said Troyan. "They really helped us hang in there and I hope this is a big confidence booster for them."

Five Mids scored in double digits, led by Kara Pollinger with 18. Pollinger shot 4-for-7 from downtown and 7-for-10 from the field.

Lehigh finished the game shooting 34.4 percent (22-for-64) from the field and 25 percent (4-for-16) from three-point range. The Mids shot 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the floor and 48 percent (12-for-25) from downtown, highlighted by a 9-for-14 effort from beyond the arc in the first half.

Pollinger scored the first eight Navy points as the Mids jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. Kinek put Lehigh's first seven points on the board, but Navy equaled those seven to extend its lead to 15-7. Five straight points from Sharlow pulled the Mountain Hawks within three at 15-12 with 14:25 on the clock.

Lehigh was down by five following a pair of free throws from Navy's Jade Geif, before a three-pointer from Affini and a jumper from Martins tied the game at 21 with 10:55 left in the half. Navy held a 24-23 lead a minute later, but the Mids broke off on an 11-0 run and held the Mountain Hawks scoreless for the next five minutes to take a 35-23 lead with 5:09 on the clock.

Four points from Martins and baskets from two other Mountain Hawks helped Lehigh trim the Mids' lead to five at 38-33 with under three minutes left in the half, but Navy closed out the opening term on an 8-0 run behind two more three-pointers as Lehigh went into the locker room trailing 46-33.

The Mids combined to make nine of their 13 three-pointers in the opening half, four of which came from Pollinger. Navy shot a blistering 63.0 percent (17-for-27) from the field, compared to Lehigh's 38.7 percent (12-for-31).

Baskets from junior Katie O'Reilly and freshman Kayla Burton put together a 4-0 Lehigh run to start the second half, but Navy answered with a 15-2 run that included 12 straight points to take a 63-41 lead with under 13 minutes to play. A layup from senior Hilary Weaver finally broke Navy's streak with 12:50 to play.

Navy extended its lead to 72-45 with under ten minutes to play before Lehigh used a 5-0 streak over the next three minutes to gain a bit of momentum. Another Navy three-pointer stopped the streak with six minutes on the clock as the Mids continued to remain in control and capture their league-leading 21st win of the season.

Lehigh returns home Saturday to host rival Lafayette at 7:30 p.m. on Senior Night. The Mountain Hawks will then remain home to host Army and Bucknell on Monday and Wednesday. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.

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