Friday, March 11
West Point, N.Y.
5 p.m.
Lehigh University
18-13
46
at
76
Army West Point
28-2
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
19
12
6
9
46
Army West Point
23
18
26
9
76
Mountain Hawks fall in Patriot League Semifinals at top-seeded Army
3/11/2016 7:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The fourth-seeded Lehigh women's basketball team hung tough with No. 1 Army in the first half of Friday's Patriot League Semifinal, but the Black Knights outscored the Mountain Hawks 26-6 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach en route to a 76-46 win at Christl Arena. Lehigh's season comes to a close at 18-13, while Army advances to Saturday's championship game with a 28-2 overall record.
"We came out aggressively today and played well, but Army made some good second-half adjustments," said head coach Sue Troyan. "This is a team I'm very proud of despite tonight's result. It's led by a great group of seniors that really helped raise the bar for our program."
The semifinal game marked the final contest in the Brown and White for Lehigh's influential senior class of Kerry Kinek, Amina Affini, Elizabeth Sharlow and Elizabeth Jordan.
"Over their four years they really changed the face of our program with their commitment to basketball, academics and all of the time they've put into the program," said Troyan. "This group has represented our program in the best way possible and they were so fun to coach."
Sophomore Quinci Mann led the team with 15 points behind a 5-for-7 showing from the field. Junior Lexi Martins followed with 13 points and a team-best six rebounds, while Kinek chipped in seven points.
Lehigh converted on its first four possessions thanks to a pair of Mann three-pointers and baskets from Kinek and Martins, but the Black Knights also started out hot, going 7-for-7 from the field to begin the game as Army held an early 14-10 with just under five minutes to play in the opening quarter. A pair of Mann free throws and a Kinek three-pointer pulled Lehigh within one at 16-15 with 3:18 on the clock, but the Black Knights responded with a 7-2 run over the next 2:14 to jump in front 23-17 with 1:04 to play. A last-second Mann jumper ended the first quarter and trimmed the Army lead to 23-19.
Army's Aimee Oertner scored the first six points of the second quarter to put the Black Knights ahead 29-19 before a Kinek layup snapped the streak with 6:04 left on the second-quarter clock. The Mountain Hawks converted their next five attempts from the field, but Army had an answer for every Lehigh basket as the Black Knights carried a 41-31 lead into halftime.
Lehigh wrapped up the opening half shooting 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from the field, but Army's 16-12 rebound advantage and 52.9 (18-for-34) field goal percentage helped the Black Knights to the halftime lead.
Army opened the second half on a 14-1 run as the Black Knights took a 55-32 lead to force a Lehigh timeout with 5:03 left in the quarter. The Mountain Hawks couldn't find an answer as the Black Knights continued their hot shooting and strong defense to score 12 of the final 17 points of the term and take a 67-37 lead heading into the final ten minutes of play.
Lehigh wasn't able to get anything going in the fourth quarter as both teams scored nine points in the term and Army walked away with the 76-46 win.
Lehigh finished the game shooting 40 percent (18-for-45) from the field, 20 percent (3-for-15) from three-point range and 53.8 percent (7-for-13) from the free throw line. Army shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58) from the field, 40.0 percent (8-for-20) from downtown and 66.7 percent (8-for-12) from the charity stripe. The Black Knights held a 37-21 rebound advantage.
"We've got a great group of kids coming back next year," said Troyan. "Hopefully this loss gets them hungry for next year and helps them see what it takes to get them to that next level."
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
ARMY
FG%
.400
.517
3FG%
.200
.400
FT%
.538
.667
RB
21
37
TO
21
14
STL
6
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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