Saturday, January 30
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Lehigh University
64
at
76
Bucknell
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Shooting struggles haunt Lehigh late on the road at Bucknell
1/30/2021 4:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. — Able to cut the deficit to as little as three points near the beginning of the second quarter, the Lehigh women's basketball was thwarted by a 20-point Bucknell fourth quarter, as the Bison came away with the 76-64 victory Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The loss snaps a two-game win streak for the Mountain Hawks, as they drop their eighth straight contest to Bucknell dating back to the 2017-18 season.
Despite the defeat, the Mountain Hawks got a solid performance out of junior forward Emma Grothaus, returning from a facial injury suffered two weeks ago at Sojka. She scored a team-high 16 points with a trio of 3-pointers along with six rebounds in the loss. Junior guard Clair Steele scored 13 with three assists, while freshman guard Mackenzie Kramer had 10 points and eight boards, along with three assists.
Though not having the lead throughout the first quarter or the game in its entirety, the Mountain Hawks still managed on keeping the deficit at just three points at the end of the first stanza following a Mary Clougherty 3-point jumper, trailing 18-15 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
In the second, as the Bison got their lead back out to seven points early on, Steele sparked Lehigh back within three after four points off two free throws and a jumper. Bucknell went on an 8-0 push at the five minute mark to take an 11-point lead, getting it out to as many as 13 points with 3:05 to go. Fortunately for Lehigh, a 7-0 run to close the quarter had the Bucknell lead down to just six points, 37-31.
After struggling through most of the first quarter shooting the ball, missing eight of its first nine shots to open the contest, Lehigh shot well enough to stay within striking distance in the second, shooting 55.6 percent, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
The Bison scored right away coming out of the locker room, leading by eight points, but Clougherty and Megan Walker got the deficit back to six on two occasions in the next minute or so, trading baskets with Bucknell. A 3-pointer by Grothaus with 3:39 left to play in the third quarter capped an 8-4 run for the Mountain Hawks, now down by six points, 50-44. After Taylor O'Brien converted on a 3-point play, Steele answered back with a 3-point to cut the deficit back to six points, but was met with a 3-pointer by Tai Johnson for the Bison, upping the lead back to nine with 37 seconds left.
Steele hit two foul shots with six seconds on the clock to pull Lehigh within seven, down 56-49 heading into the final frame.
The difference for the Mountain Hawks in the third quarter was the 3-point shooting, going 50 percent (4-for-8) from beyond-the-arc and holding the Bison to just 20 percent (1-for-5) from downtown in that 10-minute period.
Bucknell didn't miss a beat opening up the fourth quarter on a 7-2 push to lead by 12 points with 6:41 remaining. A jumper by O'Brien in the paint with 4:24 to go had the Bison's lead up to 17 points, on a 13-3 push to open the quarter. Kramer had the Mountain Hawks within 12 points with 2:54 to play, but the Bison got the lead back out to 17 with 2:01 to play, eventually taking the 12-point victory at home to get to 7-0 on the season.
For Lehigh, three players scored in double-figures with Grothaus (16), Steele (13) and Kramer (10), while Clougherty and Frannie Hottinger each scored eight points each.
As a team, the Mountain Hawks registered 15 assists on 21 baskets with three players notching a trio of dimes led by Kramer, Hottinger and Steele.
Lehigh shot 37.5 percent (21-for-56) from the field and just 32.1 percent (9-for-28) from beyond-the-arc, while shooting 76.5 percent (13-for-17) as a team from the foul line.
Bucknell shot 47 percent (31-for-66) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from the 3-point line, going 75 percent (9-for-12) from the free throw line.
The Mountain Hawks' bench led the way 28-16 over the Bison's, while 46 of Bucknell's 76 points were in the paint. The Bison led the entirety of the 40 minute contest.
Lehigh is scheduled to face Bucknell Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Stabler Arena, the final regular season matchup between the two teams this season, streamed live on ESPN+ with Matt Markus (PxP) and Matt Kerr (Color).
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Despite the defeat, the Mountain Hawks got a solid performance out of junior forward Emma Grothaus, returning from a facial injury suffered two weeks ago at Sojka. She scored a team-high 16 points with a trio of 3-pointers along with six rebounds in the loss. Junior guard Clair Steele scored 13 with three assists, while freshman guard Mackenzie Kramer had 10 points and eight boards, along with three assists.
Though not having the lead throughout the first quarter or the game in its entirety, the Mountain Hawks still managed on keeping the deficit at just three points at the end of the first stanza following a Mary Clougherty 3-point jumper, trailing 18-15 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
In the second, as the Bison got their lead back out to seven points early on, Steele sparked Lehigh back within three after four points off two free throws and a jumper. Bucknell went on an 8-0 push at the five minute mark to take an 11-point lead, getting it out to as many as 13 points with 3:05 to go. Fortunately for Lehigh, a 7-0 run to close the quarter had the Bucknell lead down to just six points, 37-31.
After struggling through most of the first quarter shooting the ball, missing eight of its first nine shots to open the contest, Lehigh shot well enough to stay within striking distance in the second, shooting 55.6 percent, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
The Bison scored right away coming out of the locker room, leading by eight points, but Clougherty and Megan Walker got the deficit back to six on two occasions in the next minute or so, trading baskets with Bucknell. A 3-pointer by Grothaus with 3:39 left to play in the third quarter capped an 8-4 run for the Mountain Hawks, now down by six points, 50-44. After Taylor O'Brien converted on a 3-point play, Steele answered back with a 3-point to cut the deficit back to six points, but was met with a 3-pointer by Tai Johnson for the Bison, upping the lead back to nine with 37 seconds left.
Steele hit two foul shots with six seconds on the clock to pull Lehigh within seven, down 56-49 heading into the final frame.
The difference for the Mountain Hawks in the third quarter was the 3-point shooting, going 50 percent (4-for-8) from beyond-the-arc and holding the Bison to just 20 percent (1-for-5) from downtown in that 10-minute period.
Bucknell didn't miss a beat opening up the fourth quarter on a 7-2 push to lead by 12 points with 6:41 remaining. A jumper by O'Brien in the paint with 4:24 to go had the Bison's lead up to 17 points, on a 13-3 push to open the quarter. Kramer had the Mountain Hawks within 12 points with 2:54 to play, but the Bison got the lead back out to 17 with 2:01 to play, eventually taking the 12-point victory at home to get to 7-0 on the season.
For Lehigh, three players scored in double-figures with Grothaus (16), Steele (13) and Kramer (10), while Clougherty and Frannie Hottinger each scored eight points each.
As a team, the Mountain Hawks registered 15 assists on 21 baskets with three players notching a trio of dimes led by Kramer, Hottinger and Steele.
Lehigh shot 37.5 percent (21-for-56) from the field and just 32.1 percent (9-for-28) from beyond-the-arc, while shooting 76.5 percent (13-for-17) as a team from the foul line.
Bucknell shot 47 percent (31-for-66) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from the 3-point line, going 75 percent (9-for-12) from the free throw line.
The Mountain Hawks' bench led the way 28-16 over the Bison's, while 46 of Bucknell's 76 points were in the paint. The Bison led the entirety of the 40 minute contest.
Lehigh is scheduled to face Bucknell Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Stabler Arena, the final regular season matchup between the two teams this season, streamed live on ESPN+ with Matt Markus (PxP) and Matt Kerr (Color).
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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