Saturday, February 14
2 p.m.
Lehigh University
17-7, 9-5PL
71
vs
58
Holy Cross
11-16, 7-7PL
1
2
F
Holy Cross
17
41
58
Lehigh
33
38
71
Mountain Hawks secure 71-58 win over Holy Cross in Play 4Kay game
2/14/2015 4:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's basketball team got off to a fast start and was able to hold off several Holy Cross rallies en route to a 71-58 victory over the Crusaders on Saturday afternoon inside Stabler Arena in the Mountain Hawks' Play 4Kay game. Senior Katie O'Reilly led Lehigh offensively with 15 points and scored her 1,000th career tally to become Lehigh's 17th 1,000 point scorer. The Mountain Hawks improve to 17-7 overall and 9-5 in the Patriot League with the win, while the Crusaders fall to 11-16 overall and 7-7 in league play.
"The first half was one of the best 20 minutes we've played all year on the defensive end," said head coach Sue Troyan. "We kept them out of what they wanted to do and had good ball pressure. Katie has been playing phenomenally for us and has been having a great senior year, so I'm very happy and proud of her for reaching the 1,000 point milestone."
Lehigh Gas will be donating $1,159 to the Women's Cancer 5K thanks to the 1,159 fans in attendance for Saturday's Play 4Kay game. The Mountain Hawks' victory cements a 7-0 all-time record in Lehigh's Pink Game and the team's fourth-straight home win as the Mountain Hawks move to 8-2 inside Stabler Arena this season.
In addition to O'Reilly's 15 points, the senior also contributed five assists, three steals and a pair of rebounds. Junior Kerry Kinek followed with 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Sophomore Lexi Martins recorded her 16th double-double of the season with 11 points and ten rebounds.
Raquel Scott led the Crusaders with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Lehigh finished the game shooting 40.9 percent (27-for-66) from the field 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from three-point range and 60 percent (12-for-20) from the charity stripe. The Mountain Hawks held Holy Cross to a 40 percent (24-for-60) percent clip from the field and 21.1 percent (4-for-19) mark from downtown. Lehigh held a 43-35 rebound advantage and scored 25 points off of the Crusaders' 23 turnovers.
The Mountain Hawks got off to a quick 12-0 start and held Holy Cross scoreless for the first six-plus minutes of the game. Junior Elizabeth Sharlow scored five of the 12 points in Lehigh's game-opening run and Lehigh forced four Crusader turnovers during the stretch.
The Crusaders responded with a 13-6 run over the next 6:47 as Lehigh went cold from the field, shooting just 2-for-10 during the stretch, and Holy Cross trimmed the Mountain Hawk lead to five at 18-13 with 9:07 remaining in the half. The Mountain Hawks put up the next eight points, four from senior Sarah Williams and four from sophomore Kiernan McCloskey, as Lehigh kept Holy Cross off the board for four and a half minutes and extended its lead to 26-15 with 3:32 left in the term.
The Crusaders were able to tally four more points before the end of the half, but layups from Kinek and O'Reilly finished off the term and gave Lehigh a 33-17 lead heading into the locker room.
The teams traded baskets to open the half as Lehigh held onto a 41-26 lead with 16:47 left on the clock. A Lisa Mifsud layup ignited a 10-0 Holy Cross run in which the Crusaders went 4-for-4 from the field over the next 2:11 to narrow the Lehigh lead to 41-36 with 14:36 to play.
Lehigh scored the next six points, four of which came from Martins, to put its lead back in double-digits at 47-36. Lehigh pulled ahead by as much as 14 at 58-44 following a Sharlow free throw with 6:32 to play, but the Crusaders wouldn't go quietly and responded with a 7-2 streak over the next 3:19 to pull within nine at 60-51 with 3:13 left on the clock.
A three-pointer from Kayla Burton was followed by a Kinek jumper at the 1:50 mark to put Lehigh back up by 14 at 65-51 and the Crusaders were never able to recover as Lehigh walked away with the 71-58 victory and completed the season sweep of Holy Cross.
The Mountain Hawks remain home Wednesday to host Navy at 7 p.m. in Stabler Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
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Team Stats
HC
LEHIGH
FG%
.400
.409
3FG%
.211
.357
FT%
.857
.600
RB
35
43
TO
23
18
STL
8
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
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/ Women's BasketballG/F
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