Sunday, November 29
2:30 p.m.
Lehigh University
6-1
44
vs
65
Villanova
4-1
1
2
3
4
F
Villanova
16
15
13
21
65
Lehigh
11
11
8
14
44
Lehigh suffers first loss of season against Villanova in Christmas City Classic title game
11/29/2015 4:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's basketball team wasn't able to get much going offensively as the Mountain Hawks fell 65-44 to Villanova in the championship game of the Christmas City Classic Sunday afternoon inside Stabler Arena. It marks the first loss of Lehigh's season as the Mountain Hawks fall to 6-1 and the Wildcats improve to 4-1.
"We struggled on the offensive end and I give Villanova a lot of credit for that," said head coach Sue Troyan. "This game came at a good time for us against a really strong opponent. We can learn a lot from this game and can work on getting better as we head into the next week. You never like a loss, but this is a loss we can learn a lot from and get better from."
Senior Kerry Kinek led Lehigh with 15 points, while junior Lexi Martins followed with seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Both Kinek and Martins earned spots on the All-Tournament team. Sophomore Quinci Mann dished a team-best three assists. Villanova was led by 21 points from Tournament MVP Caroline Coyer.
Lehigh finished the game shooting 29.3 percent (17-for-58) from the field, 22.2 percent (4-for-18) from three-point range and 66.7 percent (6-for-9) from the free throw line. The Wildcats shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) from the floor and 35.1 percent (13-for-37) from downtown. Lehigh held a 41-34 rebounding edge.
The Wildcats drained a three on the first possession of the game and Lehigh started cold, going missing its first nine shots until a crisp pass from Martins led to a layup from senior Elizabeth Sharlow with 6:22 to play in the opening quarter. Martins followed by converting a conventional three-point play to give Lehigh a 5-3 lead 40 seconds later. Villanova used a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 10-5 lead, but four points from Kinek helped Lehigh string together a 6-3 streak to pull within two at 13-11. Villanova's Adrianna Hahn sank a long last-second three-pointer to give the Wildcats a 16-11 lead at the conclusion of the opening term.
Villanova put five of the second quarter's first seven points on the board to jump ahead 21-13, but a Kinek layup and jumper from freshman Hailey Pascoe followed to pull Lehigh back within four at 21-17. Eight points from Coyer helped the Wildcats answer with a 10-3 run that took 4:47 off the clock and put Villanova ahead 31-20 with 1:34 remaining in the first half. A Kinek layup was the final basket of the half as Villanova controlled a 31-22 lead heading into the locker room.
The Mountain Hawks shot 30.0 percent (9-for-30) from the field and 9.1 percent (1-for-11) from three-point range in the opening half. The Wildcats were 12-for-30 (40 percent) from the field and 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) from downtown.
Kinek sunk a trey to open the second half scoring before Villanova used an 8-0 lead to take its largest lead yet at 39-25 with 5:38 on the third-quarter clock. A Sharlow layup stopped the Villanova streak and was followed by a Martins offensive put-back as Lehigh kept the Wildcats off the board for over three minutes, but five more points from Coyer comprised a 5-1 period-ending run as Villanova took a 44-30 lead into the final quarter.
Senior Amina Affini tossed in a layup to begin the fourth quarter, but Villanova followed with the next five points to go ahead 49-32. Junior Kayla Burton followed with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer before Martins added a layup and Lehigh was all of the sudden back within ten at 49-39 with 7:12 to play. That would be as close as the Mountain Hawks would get the rest of the way, as the Wildcats scored the next 13 points to put Lehigh away for good en route to a 65-44 win.
The Mountain Hawks remain home to host Saint Joseph's at 11 a.m. Wednesday inside Stabler Arena on Education Day. Lehigh will welcome over 3,000 students from local elementary and middle schools and give the youngsters an opportunity to enjoy an interactive educational experience. Free video will be available on the Patriot League Network.
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All-Tournament Team:
Alexis Smith - Drexel
Kayleigh Valley - Montana
Lexi Martins - Lehigh
Kerry Kinek - Lehigh
Adrianna Hahn - Villanova
Caroline Coyer - Villanova
MVP: Caroline Coyer - Villanova
Team Stats
VUBRO-~1
LEHIGH
FG%
.414
.293
3FG%
.351
.222
FT%
.667
.667
RB
34
41
TO
4
8
STL
3
2
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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/ Women's Basketball
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