Friday, January 5
Worcester, Mass.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
8-7, 2-1
49
at
54
Holy Cross
7-7, 2-1
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
14
6
20
9
49
Holy Cross
25
10
13
6
54
Photo by: Ricky Bassman
Strong Second Half Not Enough as Lehigh Falls Short at Holy Cross
1/5/2018 9:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. – It was tale of two halves for the Lehigh women's basketball team on Friday night, as a strong second half rally fell short in a 54-49 defeat at Holy Cross. Sophomore Camryn Buhr picked up her second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, Gena Grundhoffer (5-for-10) added 10 points, Quinci Mann and Bernadette Devaney chipped in seven points apiece and Meagan Eripret had four points. Lehigh shot 31 percent from the floor and was 3-for-13 from three-point range, and Holy Cross shot 42 percent overall and was just 3-of-14 from the outside. The Crusaders (7-7, 2-1 PL) held a 38-36 edge on the glass and outscored Lehigh (8-6, 2-1 PL) 36-24 in the paint.
Trailing by 15 at the half, Lehigh outscored the Crusaders 29-19 in the second half, forcing 11 turnovers and coming away with six steals over the final 20 minutes.
"I honestly didn't think we were ready to play the first two quarters," said head coach Sue Troyan. "Defensively, we came out pretty lethargic and didn't play with a lot of intensity or competitiveness. We didn't play with the things that helped us win against Navy and we talked about that at halftime, then came out and played with a higher level of intensity. Had we seen that for 40 minutes, I think we would have seen a different result."
Buhr scored two early hoops for Lehigh, but the Crusaders started strong, hitting a three and taking advantage of two early turnovers to hold a 14-4 lead at the first media timeout. Holy Cross scored 11 points of five LU turnovers in the opening quarter, and Devaney and Buhr combined for 10 points as Lehigh ran off six straight towards the end of the frame, but Lehigh trailed 25-14 after one.
The second quarter was a period of runs, as HC kept the pressure on with an 8-0 run to start the frame and up the advantage to 33-14. Lehigh responded with six straight of their own, starting with a free throw from Devaney at the 3:30 mark. Buhr followed with Lehigh's first three of the night after starting 0-for-7. Mann followed with a pair of free throws with 2:32 remaining to cut it to 33-20, before Holy Cross hit a layup in the final minute to take a 35-20 lead into the break. The Crusaders shot 50 percent (14-for-28) in the opening half, while Lehigh struggled to the tune of a 26 percent clip, including a 1-for-14 performance in the second quarter. HC scored 15 of their points off eight Lehigh turnovers.
Lehigh emerged from the locker room a completely new team in the second half, ripping off 10 straight points to start the third and get within five. Five from Mann, and four from Grundhoffer highlighted the run before HC answered with four quick points of their own to make it 39-30 at the 6:03 mark. Benz upped the run to 14-4 with a three-pointer heading into the media timeout with the score 39-34, but Holy Cross would eventually up the lead to a dozen once more with 2:28 to go. Buhr and Benz hit two free throws apiece to make it an eight-point ballgame, 48-40, after three quarters.
Lehigh shot 6-for-9 overall and connected on two of their three attempts from downtown in the period, outscoring Holy Cross 20-13.
Lehigh outscored the Crusaders 9-6 in the fourth quarter and defensively, held HC to 1-of-10 shooting and forced five turnovers, and pressured the Crusaders to miss their last nine shots from the field over the final eight minutes. Lehigh had many solid looks at the hoop, but struggled to find the bottom of the basket down the stretch, going 4-of-17 in the final frame.
Lehigh battled back to within 50-46 after back-to-back jumpers and a steal from Eripret with 7:12 to go, and answered two Crusader free throws with a Grundhoffer trey to get back within four at 52-48 with 3:46 remaining. Buhr sank a free throw to make it a three-point game with 2:10 to go. After a couple of empty possessions by both teams, Lehigh had the ball with a chance to tie the game in the final minute, but Holy Cross' Katie Doherty came away with a huge steal with 19 seconds left, and the Crusaders tacked on two late free throws for the five-point victory.
Next up, the Mountain Hawks will return home and start a two-game homestand on Monday against Boston University. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Service Electric 2 Sports, PatriotLeague.TV and Lehighsports.com/watch.
COACH QUOTABLES: Sue Troyan
On Meg Eripret's fourth quarter impact:
"I thought she did a lot of good things and she was one of the big reasons we made a run in the fourth quarter. I thought she gave us a big boost."
On Cam Buhr's second straight double-double:
"If every player on our team came out and competed at the level she does, we would be a really good team. Regardless of the situation she comes out and gives us 110 percent every time and sets a great example for everyone else."
On chances late in the fourth quarter:
"We had good looks at the basket and took good shots, but the shots just didn't fall our way. I thought we got back in the game because we competed a lot harder on the defensive and offensive ends."
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
HCW
FG%
.310
.420
3FG%
.231
.214
FT%
.667
.900
RB
36
38
TO
13
17
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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