Sunday, November 26
Bethlehem, Pa.
4:30 p.m.
Lehigh University
4-3
61
vs
69
La Salle
3-3
1
2
3
4
F
La Salle
18
16
22
13
69
Lehigh
11
13
16
21
61
Fourth Quarter Rally Falls Short as La Salle Tops Lehigh 69-61
11/26/2017 8:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Photo Gallery
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A furious 21-4 rally got the Lehigh women's basketball team within four points of La Salle with just over one minute left, but that was as close as they would get as the Explorers held on for the 69-61 victory in the finals of the Christmas City Classic, presented by Best Western. Senior Quinci Mann scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter, sophomore Hannah Hedstrom tallied 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Cameryn Benz collected eight points and tied for the team lead with five boards. Camryn Buhr had 10 points and four rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team.
The Mountain Hawks (4-3) were outrebounded for the first time this season by a 42-25 margin. La Salle (3-3) shot 52.1 percent overall and connected on four of their seven three-point attempts. Lehigh went 35.5 percent from the field including a 2-for-18 mark from three-point range. Lehigh committed 13 turnover to La Salle's 24, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. LU outscored La Salle 25-17 in points off turnovers and also held a 38-36 edge in the paint.
"This is the kind of game where you will reveal your toughness," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I didn't think we shot the ball particularly well today, but I thought we really competed hard and fought our way back to make it a competitive game and give ourselves a chance."
Buhr scored Lehigh's first seven points out of the gate, capped with the three-pointer to tie the game at seven off a cross-court pass from Mann. Benz added four straight points off the bench to answer a La Salle run that gave the Explorers an 18-11 lead after one quarter.
Trailing 20-13 early in the second, Lehigh broke out on an 8-2 run to make it a 22-21 game at the 6:34 mark. The run featured jumpers from four different players, beginning with a tray from Meagan Eripret and ending on a Benz layup. La Salle answered in a big way, ending the half on a 12-3 run to hold a 10-point, 34-24 lead at halftime.
La Salle shot an even 50 percent in the opening half to Lehigh's 37 percent (10-for-27). Buhr tallied nine first half points to lead the team, while La Salle held a 20-12 edge on the glass.
(11/26/2017) WBB vs. La Salle, 11/26/17
"I thought we got disrupted in the post play," Troyan said. "I didn't think they got in a rhythm offensively. I thought their size and athleticism played a role in terms of our inability to knock down open shots. And it's the first time we played back-to-back games; we had some kids who logged big minutes yesterday they might have felt some of that today."
La Salle picked up right where it left off coming out of the locker room, extending the run to 16-3 over the first two minutes. Four quick points in transition to begin the period prompted a Lehigh timeout at the 7:58 mark with the score 38-24. The Explorers increased the lead to as much as 16 with a three-pointer in the closing seconds to hold a 56-40 lead through three quarters.
Tournament MVP Amy Griffin, who scored a game-high 24 points, gave La Salle a 21-point lead at 63-42 with 6:11 remaining. The Mountain Hawks exploded to score 21 of the next 25 points, starting with three straight baskets from Mary Clougherty, Hedstrom and Gena Grundhoffer. After a La Salle basket, Mann followed with five straight points and Grundhoffer hit two free throws to make it a 10-point game.
Following a flagrant foul on La Salle, Mann added two more from the line to make it 65-57 with 1:37 left, then tacked on a layup after the ensuing inbounds pass to make it a six-point game with 1:29 to go. After La Salle turned it over on the ensuing possession, Hedstrom stepped up and hit two free throws with 1:07 to play to make it 65-61. La Salle hit a free throw to get the lead back to five with 50 seconds left, then forced a Lehigh turnover and added another free throw with 26 seconds left. Lehigh would go on to miss two free throws moments later, and La Salle answered with two of their own to thwart the comeback and hold on for the 69-61 final.
Lehigh outscored La Salle 21-13 in the fourth quarter and forced 12 turnovers in the period. The Mountain Hawks have yet to be outscored in the fourth quarter in a game this season.
"It's a mindset," Troyan said. "I think they're in pretty good game shape and that helps. There's a sense of confidence in terms of getting it done and in one another to get the job done.
"We faced really good competition," Troyan said. "We faced teams from strong conferences that will compete and it will prepare us well for Patriot League play."
All-Tournament Team
Shaquana Edwards (La Salle)
Camryn Buhr (Lehigh)
Kat Fogarty (New Hampshire)
Samantha Cooper (Fairfield)
MVP- Amy Griffin (La Salle)
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A furious 21-4 rally got the Lehigh women's basketball team within four points of La Salle with just over one minute left, but that was as close as they would get as the Explorers held on for the 69-61 victory in the finals of the Christmas City Classic, presented by Best Western. Senior Quinci Mann scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter, sophomore Hannah Hedstrom tallied 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Cameryn Benz collected eight points and tied for the team lead with five boards. Camryn Buhr had 10 points and four rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team.
The Mountain Hawks (4-3) were outrebounded for the first time this season by a 42-25 margin. La Salle (3-3) shot 52.1 percent overall and connected on four of their seven three-point attempts. Lehigh went 35.5 percent from the field including a 2-for-18 mark from three-point range. Lehigh committed 13 turnover to La Salle's 24, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. LU outscored La Salle 25-17 in points off turnovers and also held a 38-36 edge in the paint.
"This is the kind of game where you will reveal your toughness," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I didn't think we shot the ball particularly well today, but I thought we really competed hard and fought our way back to make it a competitive game and give ourselves a chance."
Buhr scored Lehigh's first seven points out of the gate, capped with the three-pointer to tie the game at seven off a cross-court pass from Mann. Benz added four straight points off the bench to answer a La Salle run that gave the Explorers an 18-11 lead after one quarter.
Trailing 20-13 early in the second, Lehigh broke out on an 8-2 run to make it a 22-21 game at the 6:34 mark. The run featured jumpers from four different players, beginning with a tray from Meagan Eripret and ending on a Benz layup. La Salle answered in a big way, ending the half on a 12-3 run to hold a 10-point, 34-24 lead at halftime.
La Salle shot an even 50 percent in the opening half to Lehigh's 37 percent (10-for-27). Buhr tallied nine first half points to lead the team, while La Salle held a 20-12 edge on the glass.
"I thought we got disrupted in the post play," Troyan said. "I didn't think they got in a rhythm offensively. I thought their size and athleticism played a role in terms of our inability to knock down open shots. And it's the first time we played back-to-back games; we had some kids who logged big minutes yesterday they might have felt some of that today."
La Salle picked up right where it left off coming out of the locker room, extending the run to 16-3 over the first two minutes. Four quick points in transition to begin the period prompted a Lehigh timeout at the 7:58 mark with the score 38-24. The Explorers increased the lead to as much as 16 with a three-pointer in the closing seconds to hold a 56-40 lead through three quarters.
Tournament MVP Amy Griffin, who scored a game-high 24 points, gave La Salle a 21-point lead at 63-42 with 6:11 remaining. The Mountain Hawks exploded to score 21 of the next 25 points, starting with three straight baskets from Mary Clougherty, Hedstrom and Gena Grundhoffer. After a La Salle basket, Mann followed with five straight points and Grundhoffer hit two free throws to make it a 10-point game.
Following a flagrant foul on La Salle, Mann added two more from the line to make it 65-57 with 1:37 left, then tacked on a layup after the ensuing inbounds pass to make it a six-point game with 1:29 to go. After La Salle turned it over on the ensuing possession, Hedstrom stepped up and hit two free throws with 1:07 to play to make it 65-61. La Salle hit a free throw to get the lead back to five with 50 seconds left, then forced a Lehigh turnover and added another free throw with 26 seconds left. Lehigh would go on to miss two free throws moments later, and La Salle answered with two of their own to thwart the comeback and hold on for the 69-61 final.
Lehigh outscored La Salle 21-13 in the fourth quarter and forced 12 turnovers in the period. The Mountain Hawks have yet to be outscored in the fourth quarter in a game this season.
"It's a mindset," Troyan said. "I think they're in pretty good game shape and that helps. There's a sense of confidence in terms of getting it done and in one another to get the job done.
"We faced really good competition," Troyan said. "We faced teams from strong conferences that will compete and it will prepare us well for Patriot League play."
All-Tournament Team
Shaquana Edwards (La Salle)
Camryn Buhr (Lehigh)
Kat Fogarty (New Hampshire)
Samantha Cooper (Fairfield)
MVP- Amy Griffin (La Salle)
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
LAS
LEHIGH
FG%
.521
.355
3FG%
.571
.111
FT%
.750
.682
RB
42
25
TO
24
13
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ 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
