Tuesday, December 3
Bethlehem, Pa.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
6-2,0-0Patriot
91
vs
43
Bloomsburg
2-4,0-2PSAC
1
2
3
4
F
Bloomsburg
3
18
14
8
43
Lehigh
24
20
24
23
91
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Bench thrives as Lehigh handles Bloomsburg, 91-43
12/3/2019 9:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Capitalizing on a 30-3 lead to open the contest, the Lehigh women's basketball team led by as many as 49 points in a dominating 91-43 victory over Bloomsburg Tuesday night at Stabler Arena. The win pushes Lehigh's record to 6-2 on the season and a home record of 4-0 as the non-league slate at Stabler comes to a close for the 2019-20 season.
All facets of Lehigh's game were on display on Tuesday night, especially in the first half of play. The Mountain Hawks opened the first quarter on a 15-0 run after Camryn Buhr completed a second-chance bucket in the paint with 4:27 to play. Bella Ricci made Bloomsburg's first basket with 4:12 remaining, a 3-pointer from Emma Saxton to make it 15-3. But Lehigh ended the first quarter with nine unanswered points and led 24-3 going into the second quarter. The Mountain Hawks shot their best in the game during the first stanza, going 10-for-16 from the field for 62.5 percent.
The media timeout in the second quarter was called with 3:58 remaining and Lehigh with a 39-13 lead, outscoring the Huskies 15-10 from the end of the first to that point of the second.
Bloomsburg ended the quarter on a 8-5 run, heading into the half trailing Lehigh by 23 points, 44-21. The Mountain Hawks continued the onslaught in the second quarter from the field, shooting 60 percent (9-for-15) adding a 3-pointer on three attempts.
Buhr opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer with 8:45 left, giving her nine points and the Mountain Hawks a 47-21 lead.
Lehigh out-scored the Huskies 24-14 in the third quarter, ending with another Hottinger layup with 18 seconds left to take a 68-35 lead into the fourth. The Inver Grove Heights, Minn. native finished a very strong third quarter of play with eight points and five rebounds, drawing three fouls in the process.
The opening of the fourth quarter was an eventful one for fifth-year Meagan Eripret and the Mountain Hawks, after she converted on the jumper and was fouled, sending her to the line for the three-point play, reminiscent of her performance against Seton Hall just a couple weeks ago. She put Lehigh up, 70-35 with that basket.
After the media timeout at the 4:48 mark in the fourth quarter, Lehigh's offense continued to pace the way, as it was a stellar effort from the bench, especially the continuation of Hottinger and sharpshooting from Paige Galiani.
The senior Galiani got herself a 3-pointer with 3:52 left to put Lehigh up by 42 point and again on the fast break with 2:53 left to extend the lead to 45 points, up 84-39. In a span of 30 seconds, Hottinger had two layups including one on the fast break off her own steal to ramp up the Mountain Hawks' lead to a game-high 49 points, 88-39.
Galiani put an exclamation mark on her excellent night and Lehigh's great performance with a 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining, her fourth of the night. That was the play that concluded the evening, ending with a 91-43 victory for the Mountain Hawks.
"I think they were focused and we wanted them to be focused coming off a tough weekend with really good competition where we dropped two games on buzzer-beaters," said head coach Sue Troyan. "So I know our kids were ready and excited to get at it again.
"I thought they played great on both ends of the floor, really set the tone on the defensive end early in the game. To have the opportunity to have some kids play and go a little deeper into our bench to get some meaningful minutes, I think for our freshmen in particular is really valuable experience"
The 91 points scored by Lehigh are the team's most since scoring 91 against Delaware State on Nov. 16, 2016 on Education Day.
Hottinger led all Lehigh players with 16 points, adding seven rebounds, with two assists and a steal. She went 6-of-11 from the field in her best performance of the season so far. Three players in addition to Hottinger finished in double-figures with Sexe (14), Galiani (12) and Buhr (11). It's the first time since the Patriot League Quarterfinals last season vs. Colgate that four Lehigh players finished in double-figures.
"We've got a lot of depth and a lot of kids that can bring a lot to the table and I think allowing them to get out and play meaningful minutes was important," said Troyan. "Because those are kids, both Frannie and Paige, Paige is a great sharpshooter and teams are going to play her in zone and she will be called upon come Patriot League play to be able to step up and for her to have a game like this where she can gain more confidence is really important.
"For Frannie, we've said a lot that her development is going to be important if we want to be the best team we can be, we feel by the time Patriot League comes around, she's got to work her way into the lineup, so good game for her to gain some valuable experience."
Sexe was an efficient 6-of-8 from the field with two rebounds, a block and a steal, while Galiani got all 12 of her points from beyond-the-arc, going 4-of-6 from the field and from downtown. Buhr's 11 points were in addition to her six rebounds in just under 17 minutes of play.
Lehigh's bench out-scored Bloomsburg's 57-23, as the Mountain Hawks also scored 27 points off 23 Husky turnovers. Lehigh also led the way in second-chance points, 18-2 and out-rebounded Bloomsburg, 44-21.
The Mountain Hawks shot 53.6 percent (37-for-69) from the field, by far the best mark of the 2019-20 season so far and shot 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from long range and 71.4 percent (10-for-14) from the foul line.
Lehigh never trailed during the game, leading for 39:24 of the game, and its biggest lead was 49 with 2:06 left in the fourth quarter.
Up next for Lehigh is a date with Mount St. Mary's on Sunday afternoon in Emmitsburg, Md. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
Lehigh held Bloomsburg to under 40 percent shooting. Fans in attendance received a free appetizer with the purchase of two entrees courtesy of The Brick in Bethlehem.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Gallery: (12/3/2019) Lehigh WBB vs. Bloomsburg 12/3/19
All facets of Lehigh's game were on display on Tuesday night, especially in the first half of play. The Mountain Hawks opened the first quarter on a 15-0 run after Camryn Buhr completed a second-chance bucket in the paint with 4:27 to play. Bella Ricci made Bloomsburg's first basket with 4:12 remaining, a 3-pointer from Emma Saxton to make it 15-3. But Lehigh ended the first quarter with nine unanswered points and led 24-3 going into the second quarter. The Mountain Hawks shot their best in the game during the first stanza, going 10-for-16 from the field for 62.5 percent.
The media timeout in the second quarter was called with 3:58 remaining and Lehigh with a 39-13 lead, outscoring the Huskies 15-10 from the end of the first to that point of the second.
Bloomsburg ended the quarter on a 8-5 run, heading into the half trailing Lehigh by 23 points, 44-21. The Mountain Hawks continued the onslaught in the second quarter from the field, shooting 60 percent (9-for-15) adding a 3-pointer on three attempts.
Buhr opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer with 8:45 left, giving her nine points and the Mountain Hawks a 47-21 lead.
Emma Grothaus got herself a layup off the Hannah Hedstrom assist and was followed up by Mariah Sexe's layup to give her a new career-high of 11 points. That pushed Lehigh's edge to 28 points, a 51-23 advantage. With a 56-27 lead into the first media timeout of the second half with 4:56 remaining in the third quarter, it was freshman Frannie Hottinger's time to shine, getting to the line to push through two free throws, a layup at the 4:03 mark and then another two free throws with 3:17 left to give Lehigh its largest lead of the night at 35 points, up 62-27. That gave Hottinger six points in a little over a minute of action.And that's how we open the second half, with a Camryn Buhr 3-pointer. She's up to nine points. Watch: https://t.co/qhAZqKx5c4. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/7YvDtMhtBV
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) December 4, 2019
Lehigh out-scored the Huskies 24-14 in the third quarter, ending with another Hottinger layup with 18 seconds left to take a 68-35 lead into the fourth. The Inver Grove Heights, Minn. native finished a very strong third quarter of play with eight points and five rebounds, drawing three fouls in the process.
The opening of the fourth quarter was an eventful one for fifth-year Meagan Eripret and the Mountain Hawks, after she converted on the jumper and was fouled, sending her to the line for the three-point play, reminiscent of her performance against Seton Hall just a couple weeks ago. She put Lehigh up, 70-35 with that basket.
Doing what she does best! Eripret heads to the line after this great layup, putting Lehigh up 70-35 with 8:21 to play in the fourth. Watch: https://t.co/qhAZqKx5c4. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/yOtSTX28iN
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) December 4, 2019
After the media timeout at the 4:48 mark in the fourth quarter, Lehigh's offense continued to pace the way, as it was a stellar effort from the bench, especially the continuation of Hottinger and sharpshooting from Paige Galiani.
The senior Galiani got herself a 3-pointer with 3:52 left to put Lehigh up by 42 point and again on the fast break with 2:53 left to extend the lead to 45 points, up 84-39. In a span of 30 seconds, Hottinger had two layups including one on the fast break off her own steal to ramp up the Mountain Hawks' lead to a game-high 49 points, 88-39.
Galiani put an exclamation mark on her excellent night and Lehigh's great performance with a 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining, her fourth of the night. That was the play that concluded the evening, ending with a 91-43 victory for the Mountain Hawks.
Add another 3-pointer for Paige Galiani for good measure. Watch: https://t.co/qhAZqKx5c4. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/qArnia4Siq
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) December 4, 2019
"I think they were focused and we wanted them to be focused coming off a tough weekend with really good competition where we dropped two games on buzzer-beaters," said head coach Sue Troyan. "So I know our kids were ready and excited to get at it again.
"I thought they played great on both ends of the floor, really set the tone on the defensive end early in the game. To have the opportunity to have some kids play and go a little deeper into our bench to get some meaningful minutes, I think for our freshmen in particular is really valuable experience"
The 91 points scored by Lehigh are the team's most since scoring 91 against Delaware State on Nov. 16, 2016 on Education Day.
Hottinger led all Lehigh players with 16 points, adding seven rebounds, with two assists and a steal. She went 6-of-11 from the field in her best performance of the season so far. Three players in addition to Hottinger finished in double-figures with Sexe (14), Galiani (12) and Buhr (11). It's the first time since the Patriot League Quarterfinals last season vs. Colgate that four Lehigh players finished in double-figures.
Frannie Hottinger is heating up! She's up to 16 and the Mountain Hawks are rolling. Watch: https://t.co/qhAZqKx5c4. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/3X8DNlj9ag
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) December 4, 2019
"We've got a lot of depth and a lot of kids that can bring a lot to the table and I think allowing them to get out and play meaningful minutes was important," said Troyan. "Because those are kids, both Frannie and Paige, Paige is a great sharpshooter and teams are going to play her in zone and she will be called upon come Patriot League play to be able to step up and for her to have a game like this where she can gain more confidence is really important.
"For Frannie, we've said a lot that her development is going to be important if we want to be the best team we can be, we feel by the time Patriot League comes around, she's got to work her way into the lineup, so good game for her to gain some valuable experience."
Sexe was an efficient 6-of-8 from the field with two rebounds, a block and a steal, while Galiani got all 12 of her points from beyond-the-arc, going 4-of-6 from the field and from downtown. Buhr's 11 points were in addition to her six rebounds in just under 17 minutes of play.
Lehigh's bench out-scored Bloomsburg's 57-23, as the Mountain Hawks also scored 27 points off 23 Husky turnovers. Lehigh also led the way in second-chance points, 18-2 and out-rebounded Bloomsburg, 44-21.
The Mountain Hawks shot 53.6 percent (37-for-69) from the field, by far the best mark of the 2019-20 season so far and shot 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from long range and 71.4 percent (10-for-14) from the foul line.
Lehigh never trailed during the game, leading for 39:24 of the game, and its biggest lead was 49 with 2:06 left in the fourth quarter.
Up next for Lehigh is a date with Mount St. Mary's on Sunday afternoon in Emmitsburg, Md. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
Lehigh held Bloomsburg to under 40 percent shooting. Fans in attendance received a free appetizer with the purchase of two entrees courtesy of The Brick in Bethlehem.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
BU
Lehigh
FG%
.373
.536
3FG%
.200
.412
FT%
.600
.714
RB
21
44
TO
23
11
STL
5
14
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ 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
