Wednesday, November 16
Stabler Arena
11 a.m.
Lehigh University
2-1
91
vs
80
Delaware State
0-3
1
2
3
4
F
Delaware State
19
22
15
24
80
Lehigh
19
17
23
32
91
Lehigh Pulls Away from Delaware State 91-80 on Education Day
11/16/2016 3:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Four Mountain Hawks scored in double figures to help lift the Lehigh women's basketball team past Delaware State 91-80 on Wednesday morning at Stabler Arena. Junior Quinci Mann had a team-high 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Freshman Gena Grundhoffer notched 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting and added three assists. Sophomore Hailey Pascoe scored a career-high 14 points off the bench on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, and freshman Cameryn Benz added 11 points and seven rebounds. Junior Bernadette Devaney chipped in nine points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals, while senior Kiernan McCloskey scored seven points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman point guard Hannah Hedstrom also added a trio of steals to go with a game-high nine assists.
Delaware State (0-3) was led by sophomore NaJai Pollard who led all players with 38 points and 12 rebounds on 14-of-17 shooting, and was 10-of-15 from the free throw line. Mikah Aldridge added 16 points and four steals for the Hornets.
Lehigh (2-1) played host to their seventh annual Education Day in front of an announced crowd of 4,410 students from numerous Bethlehem area schools.
"It was a great environment," said head coach Sue Troyan. "The crowd was electric, they were into it and had a lot of fun. It was really incredible and I'm really thankful for the opportunity to host this special event."
Lehigh shot 49.1 percent (27-for-55) from the field and 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from three-point range in the game, and shot 60 percent in both the second and fourth quarters.
"We have a lot of different kids that bring different strengths to the table, and I think that ultimately going to be the strength of this team," Troyan said. "I thought it was a game where different people gave us really important minutes at different times."
Delaware State took a 9-8 lead into the first media timeout, but Lehigh quickly re-took the lead on a three-pointer by Pascoe. The teams traded baskets for the next couple minutes before Delaware State ran off seven straight points. McCloskey answered with a layup after an offensive rebound at the 1:35 mark to make it a two-point game, before a Pascoe free throw and a three from Benz put Lehigh on top 19-17.
Delaware State responded with a 10-0 run that spilled over into the second quarter to take a 27-19 lead. Mann quelled the run with back-to-back three pointers to get Lehigh within two at 27-25 at the 6:30 mark. The Hornets grabbed their largest lead of the game at 39-27 at the 3:34 mark of the second quarter and kept the double-digit advantage into the final minute before Lehigh ran off the final six points of the half. Following a Devaney free throw, Meagan Eripret came up with a big block on the defensive end, leading to a Grundhoffer jumper, and then a three-pointer by Devaney as time expired to cut the deficit to 41-36 going into the break.
The two teams went back-and-forth to begin the third quarter, with the Hornets getting the lead back up to as much as eight, before Lehigh rallied to tie the game at 48 with just under five minutes remaining. Kayla Burton sank a three from the left wing to give the Mountain Hawks a two-point advantage with just under two minutes remaining. A pair of Pascoe free throws with 18 seconds left gave Lehigh a 57-56 lead they would not relinquish. A Hedstrom steal led to a breakaway layup by Benz as time expired to give Lehigh the 59-56 lead heading into the fourth.
The Mountain Hawks kept the momentum rolling scoring a season-best 32 points in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win. After growing the lead to double digits for the first time with 2:48 to go, Lehigh upped the advantage to as high as 12 on two separate occasions to finish off the 11-point victory.
"We've talked a lot with the team about this season being a process and taking it game-by-game," Troyan said. "There were certainly some things we did better in the second half than in the first half. There's a lot to get better at, at that's exciting in terms of what this team can look like in January.
"I was proud of how they competed," Troyan said. "Delaware State had a more aggressive, athletic style than we've seen and they threw a lot of different things at us. I thought our kids did a pretty good job of staying composed. It was not an easy environment to change up things the we wanted to offensively, but I was proud of how they stuck together and played together."
Lehigh will take to the court next on Saturday evening in a non-league matchup with Sacred Heart. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Stabler Arena.
Team Stats
DSUW
LEHIGH
FG%
.437
.491
3FG%
.316
.478
FT%
.632
.684
RB
42
34
TO
20
16
STL
12
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
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