Friday, November 12
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
2-0,0-0Patriot
84
vs
68
Saint Peter's
0-2,0-0MAAC
1
2
3
4
F
Saint Peter's
14
19
22
13
68
Lehigh
18
22
24
20
84
Photo by: Morgan Weindel
Defense shines again in Lehigh's 84-68 win against Saint Peter's
11/12/2021 11:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the second consecutive outing, it was a stellar defensive effort for the Lehigh women's basketball team, forcing 25 turnovers and holding the opposition to just 22.2 percent from beyond-the-arc as the Mountain Hawks (2-0, 0-0 PL) topped Saint Peter's 84-68 Friday night at Stabler Arena. The win gets Lehigh to a 2-0 start to the season for the fourth straight year.
And just like Tuesday against East Stroudsburg, it was a brilliant offensive performance for junior wing Frannie Hottinger, leading all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting with six rebounds. A total of four Lehigh players scored in double-figures led by Hottinger, followed by Emma Grothaus (16), Megan Walker (14) and Mackenzie Kramer (12).
"I think we're still growing as a team," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I didn't think we were great tonight honestly. We had a lot of kids that scored and we're a really capable team that scored 84 points but turned the ball over 25 times. We need to take care of the turnovers. But it's a potent offense and have a lot of different kids that are capable of scoring and tons of different weapons that can produce on any given night.
"I didn't think it was one of our better executed games offensively, but it was nice to see a little bit different of a team with a different style with two bigs inside that gave us a lot of trouble on the offensive end. They had some guards that were pretty quick and athletic and put a lot of pressure on us, honestly. We're going to play a lot of different teams with different styles this season and this was a good team to adjust and see what they brought."
Saint Peter's opened the first quarter with a 4-2 lead, but from that point forward, it was all Mountain Hawks. Eight straight points capped by a layup for Grothaus had Lehigh out in front, 10-4 heading into the media timeout. Two free throws for freshman Meghan O'Brien with 2:18 to play gave Lehigh its largest lead of the half at 18-10, but the Peacocks cut the gap to four to end the stanza.
In the second quarter, a driving layup for Rachel Kuhl brought Saint Peter's back within two points, but Lehigh scored seven straight points on a 3-pointer from Hottinger and back-to-back buckets from Clair Steele and Walker, extending the Lehigh lead to nine heading into the first media break. The Peacocks scored two straight baskets off Lehigh turnovers to cut the deficit to four points, but consecutive 3-point jumpers from Walker and O'Brien brought the Lehigh lead back to 10 points.
Lehigh was shooting the lights out after the first 20 minutes of play, shooting 56 percent (14-for-25) from the field and 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from beyond.
After Saint Peter's scored first to make it a five-point game at the start of the third quarter, the Mountain Hawks used two triples from Walker and Grothaus to go back up by nine points. Grothaus' fast break in the paint off the feed from Steele lifted Lehigh to a 48-37 advantage with 7:52 left in the frame, upping her total to 13 points. The 8-2 run to begin the third caused the Peacocks to call a 30-second timeout.
Lehigh's largest lead of the third quarter was at 13 points on five separate occasions with both teams trading baskets. Mackenzie Kramer had herself a whale of a third quarter after scoring her first points of the contest with 6:34 to play on a step-back jumper. She ended up scoring nine points all in the third quarter as Lehigh led Saint Peter's, 64-55 heading into the fourth quarter after Kendrea Williams drilled a 3 at the buzzer to cut the gap to nine points.
Trailing by 11 points at the beginning of the final frame thanks to a second-chance layup for Hottinger, the Peacocks were able to get back within eight points following a Tyara McQueen layup, but Lehigh kept it at double-digits for the rest of the contest, never trailing by less than 10 points for the entirety of the fourth quarter. The Mountain Hawks largest lead of the game came with 1:16 left on the clock on a Hottinger 3-pointer, her fourth of the game which set her career-high and gave Lehigh the 16-point cushion. Saint Peter's missed its final four shots and Lehigh prevailed 84-68.
"I've been really pleased, honestly with our defensive effort," said Troyan. "We mixed it up today with zone and man, went back-and-forth and showed some different things. That's probably the area in terms of development of our program that was the weakest at this point in the season last year. Right now, it's a strength for us and we've been playing some solid defense.
"We're going to be tested defensively on Tuesday at Seton Hall and it'll challenge us in many ways, but that's what the non-league schedule is all about for us."
Clair Steele led the defensive effort for Lehigh with her five steals, adding to totals of six points and six assists in her 28 minutes on the floor. Steele converted on her only shot of the contest, but went a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line. Off the bench, O'Brien led the second unit with six points in 16 minutes, also grabbing two boards with an assist.
Aside from her 16 points, Grothaus also added four assists with four rebounds.
The Mountain Hawks forced 25 turnovers as a team on 15 steals, but also committed 25, which led to 27 points for the Peacocks. Lehigh shot 52.8 percent (28-for-53) from the field, 39.3 percent (11-for-28) from beyond and 73.9 percent (17-for-23) from the foul line. Lehigh held Saint Peter's to just 22.2 percent (4-for-18) from long range.
Saint Peter's had the edge in points off turnovers (27-17), points in the paint (42-28) and bench points (24-13). Lehigh led the way in second chance points (13-12) and points off fast breaks (24-18).
It was nearly another wire-to-wire victory for the Mountain Hawks, leading for all but nine seconds of the contest.
Prior to the start of the game, the Mountain Hawks were recognized for their 2021 Patriot League title run with a special pre-game ceremony and banner unveiling. Troyan was given the microphone and offered remarks to the fans for their support during a challenging, yet rewarding 2020-21 season.
"It was really nice, especially to have fans in the stands once again," Troyan said. "It was an exciting evening to celebrate the championship from last year and play our first game at Stabler this season."
Lehigh heads on the road for the first time this season, visiting South Orange Tuesday against Seton Hall for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The matchup will be streamed live on FloSports with internet audio provided on Lehighsports.com/watch with Matt Markus on the play-by-play call. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. from Walsh Gymnasium. A victory over the Pirates would propel the Mountain Hawks to a 3-0 victory to kick off the season for the fourth straight year.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Gallery: (11-12-2021) WBB vs. Saint Peter's, 11/12/21
And just like Tuesday against East Stroudsburg, it was a brilliant offensive performance for junior wing Frannie Hottinger, leading all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting with six rebounds. A total of four Lehigh players scored in double-figures led by Hottinger, followed by Emma Grothaus (16), Megan Walker (14) and Mackenzie Kramer (12).
"I think we're still growing as a team," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I didn't think we were great tonight honestly. We had a lot of kids that scored and we're a really capable team that scored 84 points but turned the ball over 25 times. We need to take care of the turnovers. But it's a potent offense and have a lot of different kids that are capable of scoring and tons of different weapons that can produce on any given night.
"I didn't think it was one of our better executed games offensively, but it was nice to see a little bit different of a team with a different style with two bigs inside that gave us a lot of trouble on the offensive end. They had some guards that were pretty quick and athletic and put a lot of pressure on us, honestly. We're going to play a lot of different teams with different styles this season and this was a good team to adjust and see what they brought."
Saint Peter's opened the first quarter with a 4-2 lead, but from that point forward, it was all Mountain Hawks. Eight straight points capped by a layup for Grothaus had Lehigh out in front, 10-4 heading into the media timeout. Two free throws for freshman Meghan O'Brien with 2:18 to play gave Lehigh its largest lead of the half at 18-10, but the Peacocks cut the gap to four to end the stanza.
In the second quarter, a driving layup for Rachel Kuhl brought Saint Peter's back within two points, but Lehigh scored seven straight points on a 3-pointer from Hottinger and back-to-back buckets from Clair Steele and Walker, extending the Lehigh lead to nine heading into the first media break. The Peacocks scored two straight baskets off Lehigh turnovers to cut the deficit to four points, but consecutive 3-point jumpers from Walker and O'Brien brought the Lehigh lead back to 10 points.
Saint Peter's battled back to a five-point deficit with just 39 seconds left on the clock, but two free throws for Grothaus with two seconds left gave the Mountain Hawks a 40-33 lead at the half.That 2-0 mentality. 👌😎#GoLehigh | #SoarWithUs pic.twitter.com/mxW7D4puw3
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) November 13, 2021
Lehigh was shooting the lights out after the first 20 minutes of play, shooting 56 percent (14-for-25) from the field and 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from beyond.
After Saint Peter's scored first to make it a five-point game at the start of the third quarter, the Mountain Hawks used two triples from Walker and Grothaus to go back up by nine points. Grothaus' fast break in the paint off the feed from Steele lifted Lehigh to a 48-37 advantage with 7:52 left in the frame, upping her total to 13 points. The 8-2 run to begin the third caused the Peacocks to call a 30-second timeout.
Lehigh's largest lead of the third quarter was at 13 points on five separate occasions with both teams trading baskets. Mackenzie Kramer had herself a whale of a third quarter after scoring her first points of the contest with 6:34 to play on a step-back jumper. She ended up scoring nine points all in the third quarter as Lehigh led Saint Peter's, 64-55 heading into the fourth quarter after Kendrea Williams drilled a 3 at the buzzer to cut the gap to nine points.
Trailing by 11 points at the beginning of the final frame thanks to a second-chance layup for Hottinger, the Peacocks were able to get back within eight points following a Tyara McQueen layup, but Lehigh kept it at double-digits for the rest of the contest, never trailing by less than 10 points for the entirety of the fourth quarter. The Mountain Hawks largest lead of the game came with 1:16 left on the clock on a Hottinger 3-pointer, her fourth of the game which set her career-high and gave Lehigh the 16-point cushion. Saint Peter's missed its final four shots and Lehigh prevailed 84-68.
"I've been really pleased, honestly with our defensive effort," said Troyan. "We mixed it up today with zone and man, went back-and-forth and showed some different things. That's probably the area in terms of development of our program that was the weakest at this point in the season last year. Right now, it's a strength for us and we've been playing some solid defense.
"We're going to be tested defensively on Tuesday at Seton Hall and it'll challenge us in many ways, but that's what the non-league schedule is all about for us."
Clair Steele led the defensive effort for Lehigh with her five steals, adding to totals of six points and six assists in her 28 minutes on the floor. Steele converted on her only shot of the contest, but went a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line. Off the bench, O'Brien led the second unit with six points in 16 minutes, also grabbing two boards with an assist.
Aside from her 16 points, Grothaus also added four assists with four rebounds.
The Mountain Hawks forced 25 turnovers as a team on 15 steals, but also committed 25, which led to 27 points for the Peacocks. Lehigh shot 52.8 percent (28-for-53) from the field, 39.3 percent (11-for-28) from beyond and 73.9 percent (17-for-23) from the foul line. Lehigh held Saint Peter's to just 22.2 percent (4-for-18) from long range.
Saint Peter's had the edge in points off turnovers (27-17), points in the paint (42-28) and bench points (24-13). Lehigh led the way in second chance points (13-12) and points off fast breaks (24-18).
It was nearly another wire-to-wire victory for the Mountain Hawks, leading for all but nine seconds of the contest.
Prior to the start of the game, the Mountain Hawks were recognized for their 2021 Patriot League title run with a special pre-game ceremony and banner unveiling. Troyan was given the microphone and offered remarks to the fans for their support during a challenging, yet rewarding 2020-21 season.
"It was really nice, especially to have fans in the stands once again," Troyan said. "It was an exciting evening to celebrate the championship from last year and play our first game at Stabler this season."
Lehigh heads on the road for the first time this season, visiting South Orange Tuesday against Seton Hall for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The matchup will be streamed live on FloSports with internet audio provided on Lehighsports.com/watch with Matt Markus on the play-by-play call. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. from Walsh Gymnasium. A victory over the Pirates would propel the Mountain Hawks to a 3-0 victory to kick off the season for the fourth straight year.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
SP
Lehigh
FG%
.426
.528
3FG%
.222
.393
FT%
.600
.739
RB
35
30
TO
25
25
STL
14
15
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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