Sunday, December 6
Champaign, Ill.
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
6-3
67
at
76
Illinois
5-1
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
15
13
20
19
67
Illinois
19
12
24
21
76
Mountain Hawks hang tough in 76-67 loss at Illinois
12/6/2015 5:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Lehigh women's basketball team was within four with two minutes to play, but the Mountain Hawks couldn't complete the upset of Big Ten foe Illinois Sunday afternoon at the State Farm Center. Sophomore Quinci Mann scored a career-best 23 points, while junior Lexi Martins tallied her nation-best eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 17 rebounds, but Illinois' Kyleigh Simmons made six second-half three-pointers to thwart Lehigh's comeback attempts. The Mountain Hawks fall to 6-3 on the season with the loss, while Illinois improves to 5-1.
"We didn't execute very well down the stretch so it's a little frustrating," said head coach Sue Troyan. "Illinois made some big shots and we knew they were a three-point shooting team. I thought our kids fought and competed well like they always compete and there's a lot of good things to take away from this game."
Mann's 23 points came from a 5-for-8 showing from downtown and 6-for-8 clip from the free throw line. Martins added three assists to her 14 points and 17 rebounds. Senior Kerry Kinek chipped in nine points and 11 rebounds, while senior Amina Affini followed with eight points.
"Lexi bounced back from a not so great first half and I give her a lot of credit," said Troyan. "She's a competitor and a battler and really fought against them inside. Quinci seems to rise up against the best and she played really, really well."
Simmons led Illinois with 21 points, while Chatrice White followed with 17 points and a team-best nine rebounds.
The Mountain Hawks finished the game shooting 36.7 percent (22-for-60) from the field, highlighted by a 46.4 (13-for-28) clip in the second half. Lehigh shot 40 percent (10-for-25) from three-point range and 59.1 percent (13-for-22) from the charity stripe. Illinois went 45.1 percent (32-for-71) from the field, 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from downtown and 80 percent (4-for-5) from the free throw line. Lehigh held a 44-35 rebound advantage.
Senior Elizabeth Jordan, a Roscoe, Ill. native who made her first career start in front of 20-plus family and friends, drained a quick three-pointer on Lehigh's first possession. Illinois' White scored the next four points of the game, before a jumper from Kinek was followed by another Jordan trey that put Lehigh ahead 8-4 with 7:09 left in the opening quarter. The Illini were able to tie the game at eight a minute later before Lehigh took a 10-8 advantage thanks to a pair of free throws with 4:42 on the clock. The Illini converted five of their next six chances from the field to close the quarter on an 11-5 run and carry a 19-15 advantage into the second stanza.
The Mountain Hawks dominated possession to open the second quarter, but weren't able to convert as neither team scored a basket until a Sarah Hartwell layup extended Illinois' lead to 23-16 with 6:56 left on the first-half clock. A Mann three-pointer was followed by a pair of layups from Affini as Lehigh answered with a 7-1 run over the next two-plus minutes to quickly pull within 24-23 with 4:34 in left in the second quarter. The Illini responded with a 7-1 streak of their own to re-extend their lead to seven at 31-24. The Mountain Hawks held Illinois scoreless for the final three-plus minutes of the half as a Martins free throw and three-pointer from freshman Hailey Pascoe closed the term and pulled Lehigh within three at 31-28 heading into halftime.
The Mountain Hawks finished the opening half shooting 28.1 percent (9-for-32) from the field, 33.3 percent (5-for-15) from three-point range and 50 percent (5-for-10) from the free throw line.
A Kinek three-pointer opened the second half and tied the game at 31-31. The Illini responded with the next five points that served as the front end of a 14-5 streak as Illinois took a 45-36 lead with 4:35 left in the third quarter. A Simmons three-pointer gave the Illini their largest lead yet at 52-42, but Mann and Martins hit back-to-back threes to quickly cut the Illinois lead to four at 52-48. Simmons hit another three before the quarter expired to give the Illini a 55-48 lead heading into the final term.
A Martins jumper sparked a 9-3 Lehigh run to open the fourth quarter as Lehigh cut the Illini lead to just one at 58-57 with 7:31 to play. The Illini scored ten of the next 14 points over the next three minutes to re-gain a seven-point lead before the Mountain Hawks battled back once again to pull within 71-67 following a pair of Mann free throws with 2:08 left in the game. Simmons drained her seventh three-pointer of the game before an Illini layup ended the game and Illinois captured a 76-67 victory.
The Mountain Hawks will now have an 11-day break from game action for final exams. Lehigh returns to action Thursday Dec. 17 at Rider.
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content and team updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
ILL
FG%
.367
.451
3FG%
.400
.364
FT%
.591
.800
RB
44
35
TO
16
7
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballChasing Greatness: The Road to the Patriot League Title - Part 2
Thursday, May 15
Chasing Greatness: The Road to the Patriot League Title - Part 1
Wednesday, May 14
Lehigh Sports Central: Women's Basketball
Wednesday, March 19
Lehigh Sports Central: Women's Basketball
Wednesday, January 29
