Tuesday, November 16
South Orange, N.J.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
2-1,0-0Patriot
77
at
87
Seton Hall
2-1,0-0Big East
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
19
16
28
14
77
Seton Hall
16
33
19
19
87
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks' third quarter run not enough to get past Seton Hall
11/16/2021 10:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Sophomore guard Mackenzie Kramer nearly single-handedly brought the Lehigh women's basketball team back from a 19-point third quarter deficit, but Seton Hall used clutch 3-point shooting to come away with the 87-77 victory Tuesday evening at Walsh Gymnasium. The Mountain Hawks (2-1) fall for the first time in the 2021-22 season, snapping a two-game win streak to open the campaign.
Kramer was on top of her game from the get-go, scoring seven of her career-high 23 points in the first half, before going on a tear in the second, scoring 10 points in the third quarter alone on 4-of-5 shooting.
Three Mountain Hawks finished in double-scoring figures led by Kramer and were followed by Frannie Hottinger (15) and Megan Walker (12).
"I thought we could use our depth to our advantage in the third quarter," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I don't think we executed down the stretch as well as I would have liked. But give them (Seton Hall) credit too, they made their shots down the stretch. It was a well-played game on both sides, I thought we had a lot of really good looks in the first half in the second quarter, we just didn't make our shots and finish around the rim.
"We played a lot tougher in the second half and knocked down some shots. Like we said, it's a very potent offense, we just need to find consistency in it."
Lehigh opened the first quarter on a 12-4 run before the Pirates cut the gap to five heading into the media timeout with 4:51 to go. Seton Hall made adjustments at the break and scored 10 straight points to take a 14-12 lead with 3:14 left in the quarter. Back-to-back layups from Emma Grothaus and Kramer had the Mountain Hawks ahead by three at the conclusion of the first stanza.
Seton Hall made its march to the front and beyond to start the second quarter, getting out to a nine-point lead with 6:19 to go and it ballooned to a 14-point lead to end the half, leading 49-35 heading into the locker room.
The Pirates shot an efficient 51.2 percent (21-for-41) from the field and held Lehigh to 37.8 percent (14-for-37) and just 30 percent (6-for-20) from downtown through the first half of play. The Mountain Hawks shared the rock in the first half with 10 different players scoring points with Kramer's seven leading the way.
Trailing by 19 points at the 8:18 mark of the third quarter, the Mountain Hawks started their push with seven straight points to trim the deficit to 12, 54-42. Lehigh got Seton Hall lead back down to 10 points with a 3-point jumper for Kramer, when she went on a run of herself with five more points to cut the gap to six. The Pirates extended their lead to nine on two free throws for Sidney Cooks, but consecutive baskets from Frannie Hottinger including one to beat the third quarter buzzer had the Mountain Hawks within five points, 68-63 heading into the final frame of play.
The Mountain Hawks excelled specifically in the third quarter on offense, shooting 61.1 percent (11-for-18) alone in the stanza, with many thanks to Kramer's explosive outburst. Lehigh ended up finishing 43.3 percent (29-for-67) from the field and 30 percent (9-for-30) from deep.
Aside from the leading scorers, Grothaus recorded a team-high seven rebounds while Clair Steele had a season-high seven assists, leading her teammates for the third game in a row. Steele is averaging a Patriot League-best 6.0 assists per game following the contest.
After losing the ball 25 times against Saint Peter's on Friday, the Mountain Hawks committed just 10 turnovers, taking care of the ball. Lehigh's defense also forced 10 Pirate turnovers on two steals and four blocks.
"We definitely cleaned some things up in that area on the offensive end in terms of the turnovers and taking care of the ball," Troyan said. "That was one of the focal points coming in and I thought our kids made some smart reads and I thought we got some really good shots out of the offense.
"Honestly, Frannie (Hottinger) getting into foul trouble in the first half slowed us down a little bit, but it was a great opportunity for kids to step up. Jackie Vargas-Bines gave us some really good minutes, Meghan O'Brien played really well and so did Ella Stemmer."
For Seton Hall, Espinoza-Hunter registered a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Park-Lane finished with 20 points with seven assists, going 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. Three other Pirates also finished in double scoring figures with Sidney Cooks (14), Mya Jackson (13) and Katie Armstrong (10).
Lehigh led the way in points off turnovers (13-8) and bench points (18-8), while Seton Hall paced the way in points in the paint (42-36), second chance points (13-12) and fast break points (11-3).
The Mountain Hawks host two games at Stabler Arena this upcoming weekend, welcoming Mount St. Mary's Friday at 5 p.m. and Merrimack Sunday at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Kramer was on top of her game from the get-go, scoring seven of her career-high 23 points in the first half, before going on a tear in the second, scoring 10 points in the third quarter alone on 4-of-5 shooting.
Three Mountain Hawks finished in double-scoring figures led by Kramer and were followed by Frannie Hottinger (15) and Megan Walker (12).
"I thought we could use our depth to our advantage in the third quarter," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I don't think we executed down the stretch as well as I would have liked. But give them (Seton Hall) credit too, they made their shots down the stretch. It was a well-played game on both sides, I thought we had a lot of really good looks in the first half in the second quarter, we just didn't make our shots and finish around the rim.
"We played a lot tougher in the second half and knocked down some shots. Like we said, it's a very potent offense, we just need to find consistency in it."
Lehigh opened the first quarter on a 12-4 run before the Pirates cut the gap to five heading into the media timeout with 4:51 to go. Seton Hall made adjustments at the break and scored 10 straight points to take a 14-12 lead with 3:14 left in the quarter. Back-to-back layups from Emma Grothaus and Kramer had the Mountain Hawks ahead by three at the conclusion of the first stanza.
Seton Hall made its march to the front and beyond to start the second quarter, getting out to a nine-point lead with 6:19 to go and it ballooned to a 14-point lead to end the half, leading 49-35 heading into the locker room.
The Pirates shot an efficient 51.2 percent (21-for-41) from the field and held Lehigh to 37.8 percent (14-for-37) and just 30 percent (6-for-20) from downtown through the first half of play. The Mountain Hawks shared the rock in the first half with 10 different players scoring points with Kramer's seven leading the way.
Trailing by 19 points at the 8:18 mark of the third quarter, the Mountain Hawks started their push with seven straight points to trim the deficit to 12, 54-42. Lehigh got Seton Hall lead back down to 10 points with a 3-point jumper for Kramer, when she went on a run of herself with five more points to cut the gap to six. The Pirates extended their lead to nine on two free throws for Sidney Cooks, but consecutive baskets from Frannie Hottinger including one to beat the third quarter buzzer had the Mountain Hawks within five points, 68-63 heading into the final frame of play.
Lehigh was able to keep the score close through the middle stages of the fourth quarter, getting as close as four points following two foul shots for Hottinger with 4:20 to play. However, Seton Hall controlled the ball to run time off the clock, extending the lead to eight points on a 3-pointer for Andra Espinoza-Hunter. Two free throws for Lauren Park-Lane gave the Pirates a 10-point cushion, holding on for the 87-77 victory.It's @MackenzieK23's world and we're all living in it. 😱👀
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) November 17, 2021
Down to five points now!#GoLehigh | #SoarWithUs | #PLTop3 | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/CS6W37BsLC
The Mountain Hawks excelled specifically in the third quarter on offense, shooting 61.1 percent (11-for-18) alone in the stanza, with many thanks to Kramer's explosive outburst. Lehigh ended up finishing 43.3 percent (29-for-67) from the field and 30 percent (9-for-30) from deep.
Aside from the leading scorers, Grothaus recorded a team-high seven rebounds while Clair Steele had a season-high seven assists, leading her teammates for the third game in a row. Steele is averaging a Patriot League-best 6.0 assists per game following the contest.
After losing the ball 25 times against Saint Peter's on Friday, the Mountain Hawks committed just 10 turnovers, taking care of the ball. Lehigh's defense also forced 10 Pirate turnovers on two steals and four blocks.
"We definitely cleaned some things up in that area on the offensive end in terms of the turnovers and taking care of the ball," Troyan said. "That was one of the focal points coming in and I thought our kids made some smart reads and I thought we got some really good shots out of the offense.
"Honestly, Frannie (Hottinger) getting into foul trouble in the first half slowed us down a little bit, but it was a great opportunity for kids to step up. Jackie Vargas-Bines gave us some really good minutes, Meghan O'Brien played really well and so did Ella Stemmer."
For Seton Hall, Espinoza-Hunter registered a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Park-Lane finished with 20 points with seven assists, going 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. Three other Pirates also finished in double scoring figures with Sidney Cooks (14), Mya Jackson (13) and Katie Armstrong (10).
Lehigh led the way in points off turnovers (13-8) and bench points (18-8), while Seton Hall paced the way in points in the paint (42-36), second chance points (13-12) and fast break points (11-3).
The Mountain Hawks host two games at Stabler Arena this upcoming weekend, welcoming Mount St. Mary's Friday at 5 p.m. and Merrimack Sunday at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
Lehigh
SHU
FG%
.433
.471
3FG%
.300
.417
FT%
.769
.765
RB
35
43
TO
10
10
STL
2
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F/C
/ Women's BasketballG
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