Thursday, November 28
Nassau, Bahamas
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
5-1,0-0Patriot
52
vs
54
Ball State
4-2,0-0MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
11
6
14
21
52
Ball St.
13
9
13
19
54
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Lehigh falls to Ball State on last-second shot, 54-52
11/28/2019 10:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NASSAU, Bahamas — After a first half deficit, the Lehigh women's basketball team battled back hard in the second half, but fell to Ball State on a last-second shot to drop its first game of the 2019-20 season, 54-52 at the Baha Mar Resort in the opening matchup of the inaugural Bahamas Hoopfest Basketball Classic.
The first quarter was tough for the Mountain Hawks to build any kind of momentum, not able to capitalize on a shot attempt for the first five minutes of the game. Megan Walker finessed Lehigh's first shot with 5:31 to play to tie the game up at 2. Lehigh scored with 39 seconds left to trail by two and head into the first break down, 13-11.
The second quarter was much of the same for Lehigh, being outscored 9-6 by Ball State heading into the half trailing 22-17.
After adjustments coming out of the locker room, the Mountain Hawks made it a point to come out of the break rallying and trying to get the offense back in the game. Lehigh went on a 6-0 run to open the quarter, taking a quick 23-22 lead with 7:55 remaining. A Walker jumper followed by a Hannah Hedstrom layup had the lead back up to two with a 27-25 advantage. Layups from Cameryn Benz and Mariah Sexe off a Benz offensive rebound had the Mountain Hawks up by five points with 3:45 remaining.
However, it was Ball State who went on an 8-0 to end the third quarter, keeping Lehigh scoreless in the final 3:45. The Cardinals led 35-31 heading into the final stanza.
In the fourth quarter, Ball State continued to score, adding onto the 8-0 rub with a basket and a made free throw off an and-1 to come away with 11 unanswered points.
Benz's 3-pointer with 8:38 left cut the deficit back to four points, while another layup with 7:16 to play cut the Cardinal lead to 38-36.
With 4:42 remaining in the fourth, Ball State converted on a 3-pointer to give the team a seven-point lead, but Benz made the layup to cut it back to five points, 46-41.
Clair Steele had a clutch 3-pointer with 2:43 to play to make it 47-45, just the beginning of her end-of-game heroics. Benz scored twice in the final two minutes to cut the lead from 51-47 to 51-49 with 14 seconds left on the clock. After fouls in the closing seconds, Ball State made good on a free throw attempt to take a 52-49 lead with 13 to play.
After Benz made a foul shot and missed one to cut it to 52-50, the Mountain Hawks had their chance of the game after two missed free throws from Sydney Freeman with just 11 seconds left. Steele was fouled and went to the line with the ability to tie the game with the chance to force an overtime period. The moment didn't evade the sophomore as she settled down and made both shots with six seconds left to tie the game back up at 52.
After a timeout, Ball State's Anna Clephane put up a shot with less than a second left to end the game on a layup, ending Lehigh's win streak at five straight games, 54-52.
"This was a game we can definitely learn from," said Troyan. "It was a fun game to play, I thought we executed great down the stretch offensively and did everything we needed to do to get back in the game.
"We need to learn from the end of the game that we need to play until the horn sounds. I give Ball State credit, they made a play on the ball, putting up the crazy shot to win it."
Cameryn Benz had another strong performance for the second game in a row, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds, going 9-of-12 from the field. Clair Steele finished with 10 points, while Camryn Buhr added seven points and Emma Grothaus had six in her first start of the season.
The Mountain Hawks shot just 29.2 percent (19-for-65) from the field and 26.3 percent (5-for-19) from beyond-the-arc.
Lehigh's defense did its part once again, holding the Cardinals to just 37 percent (20-for-54) from the field and 25 percent (4-for-16) from the 3-point line.
It was a slow start for both teams in the first half, which could be caused by playing in a brand new environment, but Troyan was confident in her team's approach in spite of all the outside factors.
"I actually thought our girls were pretty focused, I don't think it was a lack of focus coming in," Troyan said. "I think it is a really different environment, in a ballroom with not great lighting and different ceiling heights so I think both teams needed to adjust to that.
"We honestly didn't play our best basketball in the first half, I thought we fought on the defensive end, which kept us in it when we struggled on the offensive end. Give Ball State credit, they played tremendous defense, but I thought we made great adjustments going into the second half."
The Mountain Hawks scored 26 of their 52 points in the paint and had 19 points off Ball State's 22 turnovers, while committing 15 turnovers for themselves.
Lehigh will look to re-group on Saturday in the final matchup of the weekend in the Bahamas against Fordham with tip-off once again set for 4 p.m. The game will be available for listening on Lehighsports.com/watch.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.Gallery: (11/28/2019) Lehigh WBB vs. Ball State (Bahamas)
The first quarter was tough for the Mountain Hawks to build any kind of momentum, not able to capitalize on a shot attempt for the first five minutes of the game. Megan Walker finessed Lehigh's first shot with 5:31 to play to tie the game up at 2. Lehigh scored with 39 seconds left to trail by two and head into the first break down, 13-11.
The second quarter was much of the same for Lehigh, being outscored 9-6 by Ball State heading into the half trailing 22-17.
After adjustments coming out of the locker room, the Mountain Hawks made it a point to come out of the break rallying and trying to get the offense back in the game. Lehigh went on a 6-0 run to open the quarter, taking a quick 23-22 lead with 7:55 remaining. A Walker jumper followed by a Hannah Hedstrom layup had the lead back up to two with a 27-25 advantage. Layups from Cameryn Benz and Mariah Sexe off a Benz offensive rebound had the Mountain Hawks up by five points with 3:45 remaining.
However, it was Ball State who went on an 8-0 to end the third quarter, keeping Lehigh scoreless in the final 3:45. The Cardinals led 35-31 heading into the final stanza.
In the fourth quarter, Ball State continued to score, adding onto the 8-0 rub with a basket and a made free throw off an and-1 to come away with 11 unanswered points.
Benz's 3-pointer with 8:38 left cut the deficit back to four points, while another layup with 7:16 to play cut the Cardinal lead to 38-36.
With 4:42 remaining in the fourth, Ball State converted on a 3-pointer to give the team a seven-point lead, but Benz made the layup to cut it back to five points, 46-41.
Clair Steele had a clutch 3-pointer with 2:43 to play to make it 47-45, just the beginning of her end-of-game heroics. Benz scored twice in the final two minutes to cut the lead from 51-47 to 51-49 with 14 seconds left on the clock. After fouls in the closing seconds, Ball State made good on a free throw attempt to take a 52-49 lead with 13 to play.
After Benz made a foul shot and missed one to cut it to 52-50, the Mountain Hawks had their chance of the game after two missed free throws from Sydney Freeman with just 11 seconds left. Steele was fouled and went to the line with the ability to tie the game with the chance to force an overtime period. The moment didn't evade the sophomore as she settled down and made both shots with six seconds left to tie the game back up at 52.
"Clair did exactly what we wanted her to do, she drove the ball and got to the foul line, getting two big free throws to tie up the game," said head coach Sue Troyan.Tie ball game! With 2.8 seconds left. Steele makes both! pic.twitter.com/T2vDfSgD82
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) November 28, 2019
After a timeout, Ball State's Anna Clephane put up a shot with less than a second left to end the game on a layup, ending Lehigh's win streak at five straight games, 54-52.
"This was a game we can definitely learn from," said Troyan. "It was a fun game to play, I thought we executed great down the stretch offensively and did everything we needed to do to get back in the game.
"We need to learn from the end of the game that we need to play until the horn sounds. I give Ball State credit, they made a play on the ball, putting up the crazy shot to win it."
Cameryn Benz had another strong performance for the second game in a row, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds, going 9-of-12 from the field. Clair Steele finished with 10 points, while Camryn Buhr added seven points and Emma Grothaus had six in her first start of the season.
The Mountain Hawks shot just 29.2 percent (19-for-65) from the field and 26.3 percent (5-for-19) from beyond-the-arc.
Lehigh's defense did its part once again, holding the Cardinals to just 37 percent (20-for-54) from the field and 25 percent (4-for-16) from the 3-point line.
It was a slow start for both teams in the first half, which could be caused by playing in a brand new environment, but Troyan was confident in her team's approach in spite of all the outside factors.
"I actually thought our girls were pretty focused, I don't think it was a lack of focus coming in," Troyan said. "I think it is a really different environment, in a ballroom with not great lighting and different ceiling heights so I think both teams needed to adjust to that.
"We honestly didn't play our best basketball in the first half, I thought we fought on the defensive end, which kept us in it when we struggled on the offensive end. Give Ball State credit, they played tremendous defense, but I thought we made great adjustments going into the second half."
The Mountain Hawks scored 26 of their 52 points in the paint and had 19 points off Ball State's 22 turnovers, while committing 15 turnovers for themselves.
Lehigh will look to re-group on Saturday in the final matchup of the weekend in the Bahamas against Fordham with tip-off once again set for 4 p.m. The game will be available for listening on Lehighsports.com/watch.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
BSU
FG%
.292
.370
3FG%
.263
.250
FT%
.545
.417
RB
39
47
TO
15
22
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
3
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballLehigh Sports Central: Women's Basketball
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Season Preview - Women's Basketball
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Chasing Greatness: The Road to the Patriot League Title - Part 1
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