Lehigh University Athletics
Wednesday, February 26
Boston, Mass.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
16-11, 8-8PL
47
at
48
Boston University
16-11, 11-5PL
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEHIGH | 13 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 47 |
| Boston University | 10 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 48 |
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Last-second free throws end Lehigh's bid for victory at Boston U.
2/26/2020 10:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOSTON — Just like the first matchup between the two teams in Bethlehem, defense was key for Lehigh women's basketball, as the game went down to the wire, eventually falling in Boston University's favor. The Terriers used two clutch free throws with 0.3 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter to prevail at Case Gym, 48-47 over the Mountain Hawks.
Senior point guard Hannah Hedstrom hit a layup with 1:23 remaining to put Lehigh up by three points, but with only a one-point advantage in the final seconds, Maren Durant had her moment from the charity stripe with under a second remaining after being fouled by Emma Grothaus, who was looking to block the game-winning shot.
"Give them a lot of credit," said head coach Sue Troyan. "BU made their big play down the stretch and made their foul shots. We had the same shots and didn't make them. The difference in the game is going to be when you look at the way we shot from the foul line."
The first quarter of play saw Lehigh leading BU by three points, up 13-10. Mariah Sexe had the Mountain Hawks going with her four early points, and Clair Steele upped Lehigh's lead to five points before Nia Irving made two free throws to cut the deficit to three points heading into the second.
With 8:28 remaining in the second quarter, Mary Clougherty nailed a jumper to extend Lehigh's lead to six points, up 18-12. The Terriers proceeded to go on an 8-0 run to take a 20-18 lead with 3:04 left in the half. Hedstrom made a layup with a minute left to tie the game up at 22, heading into the locker room all knotted up.
To that point, Lehigh had shot 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from the field and 28.6 percent (2-for-7) from beyond-the-arc. Sexe, who made her first start since Jan. 26, led the way with six first half points and five boards.
Durant had BU out by four points with 6:51 left in the third quarter, but Lehigh battled back to tie it for the fifth time with 4:32 left after a Megan Walker layup and two free throws for Clougherty.
With 2:09 left in the third, Boston U. extended its lead to seven points, but back-to-back 3-pointers for Walker had Lehigh within two points, 36-34 at the final break.
The Mountain Hawks scored seven unanswered points to open the fourth quarter, thanks to another Walker 3-pointer, a layup for Sexe and a layup for Walker with 8:24 left, putting Lehigh back up by five points.
Maggie Pina cut the Lehigh lead back to two points with 3:55 remaining, but Clougherty answered right back with a 3-pointer to put the Mountain Hawks up five points with 2:43 left.
After Pina made a layup with 1:52 left to bring BU within a single point, Hedstrom worked her magic and banked a shot in with a smooth move to the basket to extend Lehigh's lead to three points with 1:23 on the clock.
Katie Nelson's layup with 54 seconds left cut the lead to one point and then the Grothaus foul with under a second to play brought Durant to the line to seal the home victory for the Terriers.
"There's a lot of things we could look back at tonight," said Troyan. "We knew with Cam [Buhr] being out, we were going to need to win it on the defensive end. I thought we played really well in that area and gave ourselves a chance, but you gotta execute. We left way too many points on the line, especially when it became a one-point game at the end."
Walker finished with a game-high 16 points for Lehigh, highlighted by her 6-for-7 shooting from the field and perfect 4-for-4 from beyond-the-arc. Sexe added eight points with seven rebounds and a couple of blocks, while Hedstrom scored seven points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes. In 28 minutes off the bench, Clougherty finished with seven points, three assists and two rebounds, while going 2-for-3 from the free throw line.
Lehigh shot 38.3 percent (18-for-47) from the field, 37.5 percent (6-for-18) from the 3-point line and just 33.3 percent (5-for-15) from the foul line.
The Mountain Hawks turned the ball over 17 times, while BU only turned the ball over 14 times. Lehigh did lead the way in second chance points with eight compared to BU's two.
The lead changed four times throughout the night, with the score tied six times. Lehigh and BU led almost an equal amount of time, with both teams revolving closely around the 17:00 mark.
The loss for Lehigh puts it at .500 in Patriot League play at 8-8 with just two games remaining in the regular season schedule before the league tournament. The Mountain Hawks have dropped three straight contests, including eight of their last 11 games, including three straight on the road. Lehigh currently holds sole possession of sixth-place in the Patriot League, a whole game behind Holy Cross and a game ahead of American. If the season ended today, the Mountain Hawks would be heading on the road with a bye into the Patriot League Quarterfinals for the third straight season.
"I really thought we competed well tonight," Troyan said. "Obviously you lose a game in the last second, you're disappointed because you're going to look back at a lot of things we could have done differently, but in terms of how we competed on both ends of the floor, I thought they played well and executed well for the most part besides our turnovers and missing free throws."
Sunday's matchup with Loyola at Stabler Arena is the final regular season home game and Senior Day for the five members of the senior class, Cameryn Benz, Camryn Buhr, Paige Galiani, Gena Grundhoffer and Hannah Hedstrom, who will be honored during the contest. Tickets can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME.
Service Electric 2 Sports will carry the game, with a live stream available on the Patriot League Network.
Matt Markus will bring the Play-by-Play action on Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM in Allentown. Pre-game coverage will begin at 3:45 p.m.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.Gallery: (2/26/2020) Women's Basketball at Boston U, 2/26/20
Senior point guard Hannah Hedstrom hit a layup with 1:23 remaining to put Lehigh up by three points, but with only a one-point advantage in the final seconds, Maren Durant had her moment from the charity stripe with under a second remaining after being fouled by Emma Grothaus, who was looking to block the game-winning shot.
"Give them a lot of credit," said head coach Sue Troyan. "BU made their big play down the stretch and made their foul shots. We had the same shots and didn't make them. The difference in the game is going to be when you look at the way we shot from the foul line."
The first quarter of play saw Lehigh leading BU by three points, up 13-10. Mariah Sexe had the Mountain Hawks going with her four early points, and Clair Steele upped Lehigh's lead to five points before Nia Irving made two free throws to cut the deficit to three points heading into the second.
With 8:28 remaining in the second quarter, Mary Clougherty nailed a jumper to extend Lehigh's lead to six points, up 18-12. The Terriers proceeded to go on an 8-0 run to take a 20-18 lead with 3:04 left in the half. Hedstrom made a layup with a minute left to tie the game up at 22, heading into the locker room all knotted up.
To that point, Lehigh had shot 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from the field and 28.6 percent (2-for-7) from beyond-the-arc. Sexe, who made her first start since Jan. 26, led the way with six first half points and five boards.
Durant had BU out by four points with 6:51 left in the third quarter, but Lehigh battled back to tie it for the fifth time with 4:32 left after a Megan Walker layup and two free throws for Clougherty.
With 2:09 left in the third, Boston U. extended its lead to seven points, but back-to-back 3-pointers for Walker had Lehigh within two points, 36-34 at the final break.
Megan Walker is a BU killer. The sophomore puts Lehigh up by one with her fourth 3 of the night. Watch: https://t.co/qhAZqKfukw. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/aupFk4rIck
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) February 27, 2020
The Mountain Hawks scored seven unanswered points to open the fourth quarter, thanks to another Walker 3-pointer, a layup for Sexe and a layup for Walker with 8:24 left, putting Lehigh back up by five points.
Maggie Pina cut the Lehigh lead back to two points with 3:55 remaining, but Clougherty answered right back with a 3-pointer to put the Mountain Hawks up five points with 2:43 left.
That's a big-time 3-pointer for Mary Clougherty, who puts the Mountain Hawks up by five points. Watch: https://t.co/qhAZqKfukw. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/BnzMbEjHNC
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) February 27, 2020
After Pina made a layup with 1:52 left to bring BU within a single point, Hedstrom worked her magic and banked a shot in with a smooth move to the basket to extend Lehigh's lead to three points with 1:23 on the clock.
That's as big of a shot as you could possibly ask for out of your senior captain. Hannah Hedstrom with the absolutely clutch shot to put Lehigh up by three in the closing seconds. Watch the conclusion: https://t.co/qhAZqKfukw. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/dP0n2YIZpP
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) February 27, 2020
Katie Nelson's layup with 54 seconds left cut the lead to one point and then the Grothaus foul with under a second to play brought Durant to the line to seal the home victory for the Terriers.
"There's a lot of things we could look back at tonight," said Troyan. "We knew with Cam [Buhr] being out, we were going to need to win it on the defensive end. I thought we played really well in that area and gave ourselves a chance, but you gotta execute. We left way too many points on the line, especially when it became a one-point game at the end."
Walker finished with a game-high 16 points for Lehigh, highlighted by her 6-for-7 shooting from the field and perfect 4-for-4 from beyond-the-arc. Sexe added eight points with seven rebounds and a couple of blocks, while Hedstrom scored seven points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes. In 28 minutes off the bench, Clougherty finished with seven points, three assists and two rebounds, while going 2-for-3 from the free throw line.
Lehigh shot 38.3 percent (18-for-47) from the field, 37.5 percent (6-for-18) from the 3-point line and just 33.3 percent (5-for-15) from the foul line.
The Mountain Hawks turned the ball over 17 times, while BU only turned the ball over 14 times. Lehigh did lead the way in second chance points with eight compared to BU's two.
The lead changed four times throughout the night, with the score tied six times. Lehigh and BU led almost an equal amount of time, with both teams revolving closely around the 17:00 mark.
The loss for Lehigh puts it at .500 in Patriot League play at 8-8 with just two games remaining in the regular season schedule before the league tournament. The Mountain Hawks have dropped three straight contests, including eight of their last 11 games, including three straight on the road. Lehigh currently holds sole possession of sixth-place in the Patriot League, a whole game behind Holy Cross and a game ahead of American. If the season ended today, the Mountain Hawks would be heading on the road with a bye into the Patriot League Quarterfinals for the third straight season.
"I really thought we competed well tonight," Troyan said. "Obviously you lose a game in the last second, you're disappointed because you're going to look back at a lot of things we could have done differently, but in terms of how we competed on both ends of the floor, I thought they played well and executed well for the most part besides our turnovers and missing free throws."
Sunday's matchup with Loyola at Stabler Arena is the final regular season home game and Senior Day for the five members of the senior class, Cameryn Benz, Camryn Buhr, Paige Galiani, Gena Grundhoffer and Hannah Hedstrom, who will be honored during the contest. Tickets can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME.
Service Electric 2 Sports will carry the game, with a live stream available on the Patriot League Network.
Matt Markus will bring the Play-by-Play action on Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM in Allentown. Pre-game coverage will begin at 3:45 p.m.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballTeam Stats
LEHIGH
BU
FG%
.383
.400
3FG%
.375
.071
FT%
.333
.778
RB
36
28
TO
17
14
STL
7
11
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Friday, February 27
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Saturday, January 10
Saturday, January 03
