Saturday, January 3
2 p.m.
Lehigh University
10-2, 2-0PL
85
vs
64
Boston University
3-10, 0-2PL
1
2
F
Boston University
41
23
64
Lehigh
45
40
85
Lehigh pulls away from Boston University, 85-64, to improve to 2-0 in PL play
1/3/2015 4:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Another strong offensive effort coupled with an impressive defensive second half helped the Lehigh women's basketball team capture an 85-64 victory over Boston University Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks controlled a 45-41 lead at halftime, but held the Terriers to just 23 second-half points. Lehigh improves to 2-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since the 2008-09 season and 10-2 overall, while BU falls to 3-10 overall and 0-2 in the league.
"I thought it was a great offensive performance today, but I'm also very impressed with our defensive effort in the second half," said head coach Sue Troyan. "A lot of different people contributed in different ways. We made some adjustments going into the second half and executed those well."
Sophomore Lexi Martins led the way once again, tallying her ninth double-double of the season with a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Katie O'Reilly chipped in 11 points and freshman Quinci Mann followed with 10 points. Junior Kerry Kinek was held under ten points for the first time this season and finished the contest with eight points and seven rebounds.
Lehigh shot 45.5 percent (30-for-66) from the field and 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from three-point range in addition to a 78.3 percent (18-for-23) clip from the charity stripe. The Terriers finished the game shooting 39.7 percent (23-for-58) from the field, despite a 55.6 percent effort in the first half. BU made just five field goals in the second half, while 13 of its second-term points came from the charity stripe. Lehigh controlled a slim 39-37 rebound advantage.
Martins scored the first five points of the game over the opening minute and a half, but Boston University responded with the next five as the score was knotted at 16:43. A layup from O'Reilly sparked an 8-0 Lehigh run in which the Mountain Hawks forced three BU turnovers over the next 2:08 to take a 13-5 lead.
The Terriers cut the Lehigh lead to two at 16-14 following a layup from Mollie McKendrick that capped off a 9-3 BU run with 11 minutes left on the clock. Both offenses heated up from there, but Lehigh was eventually able to re-extend its advantage to six following a pair of Martins free throws and a jumper from Mann that put the score at 26-20 with 6:46 on the clock.
The teams exchanged baskets, but BU was able to run off a 12-7 streak over the next three minutes that was finished by Sarah Hope three-pointer. The trey brought the Terriers back within one at 33-32 with 3:55 to play in the opening term. Another BU three-pointer tied the score at 37 with 2:37 on the clock. After another exchange of baskets, Lehigh closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a 45-41 lead into the locker room.
A Mann jumper opened the second-half scoring and ignited an 8-2 Mountain Hawk streak as Lehigh stretched its lead to ten at 17:31.The Terriers scored the next five points, but Lehigh followed with an 8-0 run. The streak saw baskets from four different Mountain Hawks and took 2:47 of the clock as Lehigh took its largest lead yet at 61-48 with 13:35 to play.
Following a BU basket, Lehigh continued to pull away from the Terriers with another large run, this time a 9-0 streak that took 3:27 off the clock as a jumper from sophomore Kayla Burton gave the Mountain Hawks a 70-50 lead. The Terriers wouldn't go down quietly, however, scoring the next seven points and holding the Mountain Hawks scoreless for nearly four minutes until a pair of O'Reilly free throws put the Mountain Hawks up 73-57 with 5:21 on the clock.
Four points from junior Elizabeth Sharlow and a Martins three-pointer made Lehigh's lead 20 at 80-60 as the clock wound down to 3:43. The Mountain Hawks remained in control the rest of the way, as a three-pointer from freshman Bernadette Devaney capped off an 85-64 win for the Mountain Hawks.
The Mountain Hawks remain home Wednesday to host defending league champion Army at 7 p.m. inside Stabler Arena. The game can be viewed locally on Service Electric 2 Sports and for free online via the Patriot League Network.
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Team Stats
BU
LEHIGH
FG%
.397
.455
3FG%
.357
.412
FT%
.722
.783
RB
37
39
TO
16
8
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
9
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
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