Lehigh University Athletics
Sunday, January 5
Baltimore, Md.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
10-3, 2-0PL
55
at
53
Loyola (MD)
3-10, 0-2PL
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
14
12
14
15
55
Loyola Maryland
17
7
14
15
53
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Mountain Hawks escape with 55-53 victory in thriller at Loyola
1/5/2020 6:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Benz hits game-winning shot with 1.5 seconds left
BALTIMORE — After a sluggish start to the afternoon that had the Lehigh women's basketball team just leading Loyola, 26-24 at the end of the first half of play, the Mountain Hawks came through in the clutch as senior Cameryn Benz drained a shot with 1.5 seconds left to give Lehigh the 55-53 win over the Greyhounds Sunday afternoon at Reitz Arena.
With the close victory, Lehigh improves to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks have now won seven straight regular season league games dating back to last season and are winners of five of their last six games.
"We've talked to the kids a lot that being in games like this are going to be very reflective of our league," said head coach Sue Troyan following the victory. "It's hard to win on the road, so any win you can get on the road, you take. Even if it's a little bit of an ugly one like it was today, we made big shots at big times. I thought a lot of people stepped up for us when we needed them to."
The first quarter was a little too close for comfort for the Mountain Hawks, as Loyola's Bri Rozzi hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to push the Greyhounds in front, 17-14 to conclude the first stanza. It was a first quarter that saw Lehigh shoot just 37.5 percent (6-for-16) from the field with a 3-pointer. Loyola had a decent first quarter shooting the ball, 43.8 percent (7-for-16) from the field.
Lehigh and Loyola went much of the second quarter neck-and-neck with three ties throughout, but a steal and finish by Katie Rice with 2:52 remaining followed by a layup from Clair Steele gave Lehigh the 26-24 advantage heading into the locker room.
The first half was a mix of everything for Lehigh, struggling to be consistent shooting the ball, but finding bright spots, especially with fifth-year Meagan Eripret leading the charge with six early points and four rebounds and a block to her credit. Eripret finished the game with six points, tying her season-high.
The Mountain Hawks opened the second half with a layup from Mariah Sexe that gave Lehigh a four-point lead with 9:18 to play, but the Greyhounds fought back with a 9-2 run with 6:47 left to take a 33-30 lead after a Stephanie Karcz layup. However, senior Camryn Buhr came through for Lehigh with 5:59 to play with a layup that turned into an and-1 to tie the game up at 33 for the sixth time.
After Loyola took another four-point lead, up 37-33 with 4:08 to play, Buhr hit a 3-pointer, which was followed by an Emma Grothaus layup to tie the game back up at 38 with 2:50 left in the quarter. Grothaus then hit a jumper with 1:44 on the clock to send the Mountain Hawks back to the bench into the final stanza with a two-point, 40-38 lead.
As expected, neither Lehigh nor Loyola gave an inch through the first six or so minutes of the fourth quarter. After the lead was tied for the ninth time at 45 with 6:55 left, Grothaus found herself back at the free throw line, converting on both to give the Mountain Hawks a 47-45 lead with five to play.
Big shots by both Benz and Megan Walker found Lehigh with its largest lead of the game with 2:50 to play and a 51-45 advantage, but Loyola fought back to even things up after two Emily McAteer 3-pointers at the 2:34 and 1:05 marks, tying the ballgame up at 51.
Benz then came through with two key moments in the matchup's final 31 seconds, nailing a layup from Buhr to give Lehigh a 53-51 lead. Karcz tied the game up for the Greyhounds with 22 seconds left, making it 53-53, but Lehigh prevailed with 1.5 seconds left off the feed from Buhr and shot from Benz to lift the Mountain Hawks to victory.
Lehigh had three players score in double-figures on the day, led by Buhr with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and a block. Grothaus and Benz each scored 10 points. Each finished with eight and nine rebounds, respectively. Grothaus also finished with a career-high four assists, two steals and a block in 31 minutes off the bench.
Eripret finished her solid outing off the bench with six points and six rebounds, adding two blocks and an assist in 13 minutes.
"You count your blessings because of our depth, and you also count them with six seniors on the floor making big plays at the end of games," Troyan said. "Games we've won have been led by our senior group. Meag [Eripret] does a great job of any role whether it's two, eight or 10 minutes, of accepting that role that when she goes in, she comes in and just does it. Fifth-years like that are what makes this team what we are, honestly.
"I'm super proud of her and super proud of our seniors as a group, they have a lot of confidence coming out of the huddle, just knowing what to do, how to do it and knowing that they have an advantage as a senior group."
The Mountain Hawks shot 37.5 percent (24-for-64) from the field and held the Greyhounds to 35.7 percent (20-for-56). Rebounds were tied up at 38 apiece, while Lehigh scored 15 points off of 17 Loyola turnovers. Lehigh's bench out-scored Loyola's 23-15, while the team converted on nine second-chance points.
"Sometimes our shots don't fall the way we want them to, and they weren't falling from 3," said Troyan. "They played a lot of zone because of that, but we found different ways. I thought Cam just had some great buckets inside and same with Emma, her inside presence was just really strong against the zone."
Lehigh will turn its attention to Wednesday evening, welcoming Boston U. to Stabler Arena for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
Tickets for that game and any other game can be purchased here or by calling 610-7LU-GAME.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.Gallery: (1/5/2020) Women's Basketball at Loyola, 1/5/20
With the close victory, Lehigh improves to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks have now won seven straight regular season league games dating back to last season and are winners of five of their last six games.
"We've talked to the kids a lot that being in games like this are going to be very reflective of our league," said head coach Sue Troyan following the victory. "It's hard to win on the road, so any win you can get on the road, you take. Even if it's a little bit of an ugly one like it was today, we made big shots at big times. I thought a lot of people stepped up for us when we needed them to."
The first quarter was a little too close for comfort for the Mountain Hawks, as Loyola's Bri Rozzi hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to push the Greyhounds in front, 17-14 to conclude the first stanza. It was a first quarter that saw Lehigh shoot just 37.5 percent (6-for-16) from the field with a 3-pointer. Loyola had a decent first quarter shooting the ball, 43.8 percent (7-for-16) from the field.
Lehigh and Loyola went much of the second quarter neck-and-neck with three ties throughout, but a steal and finish by Katie Rice with 2:52 remaining followed by a layup from Clair Steele gave Lehigh the 26-24 advantage heading into the locker room.
What a play by Katie Rice! The sophomore picks off the pass and gets around the defender to deliver on the layup. Great defense, great finish. Watch: https://t.co/qhAZqKfukw. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/XudghbR0uE
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) January 5, 2020
The first half was a mix of everything for Lehigh, struggling to be consistent shooting the ball, but finding bright spots, especially with fifth-year Meagan Eripret leading the charge with six early points and four rebounds and a block to her credit. Eripret finished the game with six points, tying her season-high.
The Mountain Hawks opened the second half with a layup from Mariah Sexe that gave Lehigh a four-point lead with 9:18 to play, but the Greyhounds fought back with a 9-2 run with 6:47 left to take a 33-30 lead after a Stephanie Karcz layup. However, senior Camryn Buhr came through for Lehigh with 5:59 to play with a layup that turned into an and-1 to tie the game up at 33 for the sixth time.
After Loyola took another four-point lead, up 37-33 with 4:08 to play, Buhr hit a 3-pointer, which was followed by an Emma Grothaus layup to tie the game back up at 38 with 2:50 left in the quarter. Grothaus then hit a jumper with 1:44 on the clock to send the Mountain Hawks back to the bench into the final stanza with a two-point, 40-38 lead.
As expected, neither Lehigh nor Loyola gave an inch through the first six or so minutes of the fourth quarter. After the lead was tied for the ninth time at 45 with 6:55 left, Grothaus found herself back at the free throw line, converting on both to give the Mountain Hawks a 47-45 lead with five to play.
Big shots by both Benz and Megan Walker found Lehigh with its largest lead of the game with 2:50 to play and a 51-45 advantage, but Loyola fought back to even things up after two Emily McAteer 3-pointers at the 2:34 and 1:05 marks, tying the ballgame up at 51.
Benz then came through with two key moments in the matchup's final 31 seconds, nailing a layup from Buhr to give Lehigh a 53-51 lead. Karcz tied the game up for the Greyhounds with 22 seconds left, making it 53-53, but Lehigh prevailed with 1.5 seconds left off the feed from Buhr and shot from Benz to lift the Mountain Hawks to victory.
🏀 Cameryn Benz hit a jumper with 1.5 seconds left to lift @LehighWBB to a 55-53 win at Loyola Sunday afternoon.#PatriotWBB | @ncaawbb | @Stadium pic.twitter.com/SUPrOcz75W
— Patriot League Network | PatriotLeague.tv (@PatriotLeagueTV) January 5, 2020
Lehigh had three players score in double-figures on the day, led by Buhr with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and a block. Grothaus and Benz each scored 10 points. Each finished with eight and nine rebounds, respectively. Grothaus also finished with a career-high four assists, two steals and a block in 31 minutes off the bench.
Eripret finished her solid outing off the bench with six points and six rebounds, adding two blocks and an assist in 13 minutes.
That's a season-high six points for Eripret! She gets Lehigh back even with the Greyhounds. Watch: https://t.co/qhAZqKfukw. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/NHltKqboQP
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) January 5, 2020
"You count your blessings because of our depth, and you also count them with six seniors on the floor making big plays at the end of games," Troyan said. "Games we've won have been led by our senior group. Meag [Eripret] does a great job of any role whether it's two, eight or 10 minutes, of accepting that role that when she goes in, she comes in and just does it. Fifth-years like that are what makes this team what we are, honestly.
"I'm super proud of her and super proud of our seniors as a group, they have a lot of confidence coming out of the huddle, just knowing what to do, how to do it and knowing that they have an advantage as a senior group."
The Mountain Hawks shot 37.5 percent (24-for-64) from the field and held the Greyhounds to 35.7 percent (20-for-56). Rebounds were tied up at 38 apiece, while Lehigh scored 15 points off of 17 Loyola turnovers. Lehigh's bench out-scored Loyola's 23-15, while the team converted on nine second-chance points.
"Sometimes our shots don't fall the way we want them to, and they weren't falling from 3," said Troyan. "They played a lot of zone because of that, but we found different ways. I thought Cam just had some great buckets inside and same with Emma, her inside presence was just really strong against the zone."
Lehigh will turn its attention to Wednesday evening, welcoming Boston U. to Stabler Arena for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
Tickets for that game and any other game can be purchased here or by calling 610-7LU-GAME.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
LOY
FG%
.375
.357
3FG%
.150
.333
FT%
1.000
.727
RB
38
38
TO
17
17
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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