Saturday, December 8
Bethlehem, Pa.
2 P.M.
Lehigh University
7-2
70
vs
66
Sacred Heart
3-5
1
2
3
4
F
Sacred Heart
10
14
21
21
66
Lehigh
28
12
13
17
70
Mountain Hawks Withstand Late Rally From Sacred Heart To Move To 7-2
12/8/2018 7:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa – The Lehigh women's basketball team held off the surging Sacred Heart Pioneers late in the fourth quarter; as the Mountain Hawks earned their seventh win of the year, winning 70-66 at Stabler Arena. Lehigh moves to 7-2 on the season with the win while Sacred Heart falls to 3-5.
Losing to Sacred Heart 65-55 last season, Lehigh moves to 7-5 in the all-time series over the Pioneers and have now won three of the last five meetings.
This marks the third time this season that the Mountain Hawks have scored 70 or more points. The game-high this season still sits at 88 points, which was set back on November 10 against Central Connecticut State.
Lehigh got out to a red-hot start against the Pioneers; scoring 28 points in the first quarter, the most points this season the Mountain Hawks have scored in the opening frame. Senior Hailey Pascoe and junior Cameryn Benz acted as the catalysts for the huge opening run; with Pascoe scoring eight points while going 3-for-4 shooting while Benz put up seven points and went 3-for-3 from the field.
All in all, the Mountain Hawks saw three players reach double figures in scoring, as junior Camryn Buhr (12), Pascoe (10) and Benz (10) were the top three leading scorers on Saturday. Buhr once again had a double-double in reach, as she had eight rebounds on the day to go along with her 12 points and two blocks. Buhr's two blocks set a new season high and was one short of tying her career high of three. Freshman Emma Grothaus was yet another Mountain Hawk within reach of a double-double, as she put up nine points and seven rebounds.
"Sacred Heart's a good team, a team picked to finish first in its conference. We knew coming in that this was going to be a tough game." Said head coach Sue Troyan after the game. "We got off to a hot start and played one of our best quarters on both ends of the floor. I think it might have been to our disadvantage getting off to an 18-point lead, as our kids looked to be on cruise control after."
Showing signs of life in the second quarter, the Pioneers took a 12-0 run to begin the quarter to get within seven of the Mountain Hawks before the Brown and White would go back on the offensive. Buhr would drop five of her 12 points in the second quarter to help Lehigh establish a 12-3 run to end the half. Candice Leatherwood would provide most of the offense for the Pioneers in the first half, scoring 12 of 24 points.
"We're going to have to figure out how to be a better defensive team. There are some teams in our league that heavily rely on one player for most of their scoring, and if we can't shut down those players and force teams to find other players to score, we're going to be in trouble." Said Troyan. "The Binghamton game and now Sacred Heart both have given us a chance to learn that we have to be better in those situations."
Things would start to go awry for the Mountain Hawks starting with the third quarter. Coming in with a 16-point advantage; Lehigh would see the Pioneers attempt to methodically chip away at the lead. Although exchanging baskets for most of the quarter, it wasn't until the final three minutes that the Pioneers were able to get within eight of Lehigh on the back of a 10-3 run. Although being outscored 21-13, Grothaus' seven points helped proved to be beneficial, as it helped keep the Mountain Hawks afloat.
Sacred Heart would once again throw everything they had at the Mountain Hawks, scoring 21 points yet again in the final chapter. Taking a 13-point lead into the final two minutes, Sacred heart turned on the jets, getting within just three points of the Mountain Hawks with less than 10 seconds to go. That would as close as the Pioneers would get, as Buhr would get fouled and make it a two-score game with six seconds left.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on December 20 as they host the Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Losing to Sacred Heart 65-55 last season, Lehigh moves to 7-5 in the all-time series over the Pioneers and have now won three of the last five meetings.
This marks the third time this season that the Mountain Hawks have scored 70 or more points. The game-high this season still sits at 88 points, which was set back on November 10 against Central Connecticut State.
Lehigh got out to a red-hot start against the Pioneers; scoring 28 points in the first quarter, the most points this season the Mountain Hawks have scored in the opening frame. Senior Hailey Pascoe and junior Cameryn Benz acted as the catalysts for the huge opening run; with Pascoe scoring eight points while going 3-for-4 shooting while Benz put up seven points and went 3-for-3 from the field.
All in all, the Mountain Hawks saw three players reach double figures in scoring, as junior Camryn Buhr (12), Pascoe (10) and Benz (10) were the top three leading scorers on Saturday. Buhr once again had a double-double in reach, as she had eight rebounds on the day to go along with her 12 points and two blocks. Buhr's two blocks set a new season high and was one short of tying her career high of three. Freshman Emma Grothaus was yet another Mountain Hawk within reach of a double-double, as she put up nine points and seven rebounds.
"Sacred Heart's a good team, a team picked to finish first in its conference. We knew coming in that this was going to be a tough game." Said head coach Sue Troyan after the game. "We got off to a hot start and played one of our best quarters on both ends of the floor. I think it might have been to our disadvantage getting off to an 18-point lead, as our kids looked to be on cruise control after."
Showing signs of life in the second quarter, the Pioneers took a 12-0 run to begin the quarter to get within seven of the Mountain Hawks before the Brown and White would go back on the offensive. Buhr would drop five of her 12 points in the second quarter to help Lehigh establish a 12-3 run to end the half. Candice Leatherwood would provide most of the offense for the Pioneers in the first half, scoring 12 of 24 points.
"We're going to have to figure out how to be a better defensive team. There are some teams in our league that heavily rely on one player for most of their scoring, and if we can't shut down those players and force teams to find other players to score, we're going to be in trouble." Said Troyan. "The Binghamton game and now Sacred Heart both have given us a chance to learn that we have to be better in those situations."
Things would start to go awry for the Mountain Hawks starting with the third quarter. Coming in with a 16-point advantage; Lehigh would see the Pioneers attempt to methodically chip away at the lead. Although exchanging baskets for most of the quarter, it wasn't until the final three minutes that the Pioneers were able to get within eight of Lehigh on the back of a 10-3 run. Although being outscored 21-13, Grothaus' seven points helped proved to be beneficial, as it helped keep the Mountain Hawks afloat.
Sacred Heart would once again throw everything they had at the Mountain Hawks, scoring 21 points yet again in the final chapter. Taking a 13-point lead into the final two minutes, Sacred heart turned on the jets, getting within just three points of the Mountain Hawks with less than 10 seconds to go. That would as close as the Pioneers would get, as Buhr would get fouled and make it a two-score game with six seconds left.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on December 20 as they host the Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
SHU
LEHIGH
FG%
.362
.429
3FG%
.350
.368
FT%
.810
.682
RB
27
47
TO
15
21
STL
11
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ 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
