Saturday, November 27
Bethlehem, Pa.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
5-1,0-0Patriot
69
vs
44
Rider
0-4,0-0MAAC
1
2
3
4
F
Rider
15
8
11
10
44
Lehigh
21
9
28
11
69
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Lehigh defeats Rider 69-44 in Christmas City Classic, heads to title game
11/27/2021 4:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Another hot-shooting third quarter allowed the Lehigh women's basketball team to run away late in yet another contest, downing Rider 69-44 in the opening round of the Christmas City Classic presented by SureStay PLUS Hotel by Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel and Conference Center. The win propels the Mountain Hawks (5-1) to the Championship Game for the 14th time in the last 15 tournaments dating back to 2004. Lehigh will face Missouri on Sunday at noon.
Sophomore Mackenzie Kramer finished with a team-high 21 points with five 3-pointers, while senior Megan Walker added 12 and junior Frannie Hottinger rounded out the group with 10 points and seven rebounds. Lehigh out-scored the Broncs, 28-11 in the third stanza and held them to just 11.1 percent (3-for-27) from deep throughout the contest.
"We didn't make a lot of shots (in the first quarter), honestly," said head coach Sue Troyan. "We were especially struggling in the second. We got some pretty good looks within our offense, but just didn't knock down shots. In the second half, we got a little more patient in terms of working the ball inside and outside and got a little more into the flow of our offense.
"It turned into a really successful third and fourth quarter for us. Kenzie played really well today and I'll give our guards and post players a lot of credit for finding her. Frannie (Hottinger) found her for a layup and a couple people got the ball to her inside when their defense was collapsing in on us and we were able to kick it out. Our team feeds a lot off of her play and give Kenz a lot of credit for her leadership."
Rider kept things close in the first quarter leading by two points with 6:46 to play, as Lehigh got back in front by two points heading into the 4:13 media timeout. The Broncs were able to take another one-point lead with 2:18 to go, but seven straight points to end the quarter had the Mountain Hawks ahead, 21-15 at the end of one. For the Broncs, it was a stellar start for Raphaela Toussaint, who accounted for all but two points in the frame, leading the way with nine. For Lehigh, Kramer led her teammates with eight first quarter points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Lehigh and Rider traded baskets to open the second quarter with an Amanda Mobley pull-up jumper bringing the Broncs within two and then a Jessika Schiffer turnaround jumper making it a 23-21 Lehigh lead heading into the media timeout with 4:46 left to play in the half. The Mountain Hawks saw a two-point advantage balloon into a six-point lead following back-to-back buckets from Grothaus and Hottinger. A free throw for Hottinger gave Lehigh a 30-23 lead heading into the locker room.
Lehigh scored two consecutive shots on 3-pointers with Kramer and Walker going back-to-back, giving the Mountain Hawks a 19-point, 49-30 edge at the 3:06 media timeout. A 12-4 run for Lehigh, pushed the advantage to 24 points, the largest lead of the game to that point, at 58-34 going into the final stanza.
Troyan was able to use most of her bench as the fourth quarter opened up with plenty of individuals seeing playing time late in the contest. Rider scored a bucket with 8:01 to play to cut the deficit to 19 points, but the Mountain Hawks scored eight straight points to extend the lead back to 27 points at 66-39. Sophomore Maddie Albrecht gave Lehigh a 30-point lead with 3:59 to play on her first 3-pointer of the game, as the Broncs went on a 5-0 push to cut the gap to 25 points with just 11 seconds on the clock. Lehigh out-scored Rider, 11-10 in the fourth quarter to prevail with a 69-44 final.
"Rider was a little bit of a different kind of team than we're used to playing," Troyan said. "They are a team that runs a lot of sets. So, we had to prepare just a little bit differently because we couldn't go through a lot of their sets. We talked about the importance of defending action and I thought our kids came out and did a really solid job against a very different team. I thought our defense responded well in terms of defending well and I give Emma (Grothaus) a lot of credit as well. She didn't have a great offensive game, but she carried us on the defensive end today."
Kramer led the way with 21 points, adding four rebounds and two assists to her totals. Hottinger added seven boards with her 10 points, while Walker had 12 points with six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a career-high two blocks against the Broncs. For the sixth straight game to open the season, senior guard Clair Steele tallied at least five assists with six to lead the team. Off the bench, it was a strong effort for first-year forward Meghan O'Brien, pacing the second unit with seven points and seven rebounds in nearly 19 minutes of gameplay.
The Mountain Hawks shot 37.1 percent (26-for-70) from the floor and 36.7 percent (11-for-30) from deep including 85.7 percent (6-for-7) from the free throw line. Lehigh out-rebounded Rider, 52-38 and scored six points on 10 turnovers. The Mountain Hawks finished with the edge in points in the paint (24-20), second chance points (13-2), points off fast breaks (22-0) and bench points (16-12). Lehigh led for nearly the entire contest, in all but almost two minutes.
Lehigh will face Missouri on Sunday in the Christmas City Classic Championship Game. Tip-off is set for noon and will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Lehigh Women's Basketball held Rider to under 40 percent shooting. Fans in attendance received a free appetizer with the purchase of two entrees courtesy of The Brick in Bethlehem.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Gallery: (11-27-2021) WBB vs. Rider, 11/27/21
Sophomore Mackenzie Kramer finished with a team-high 21 points with five 3-pointers, while senior Megan Walker added 12 and junior Frannie Hottinger rounded out the group with 10 points and seven rebounds. Lehigh out-scored the Broncs, 28-11 in the third stanza and held them to just 11.1 percent (3-for-27) from deep throughout the contest.
"We didn't make a lot of shots (in the first quarter), honestly," said head coach Sue Troyan. "We were especially struggling in the second. We got some pretty good looks within our offense, but just didn't knock down shots. In the second half, we got a little more patient in terms of working the ball inside and outside and got a little more into the flow of our offense.
"It turned into a really successful third and fourth quarter for us. Kenzie played really well today and I'll give our guards and post players a lot of credit for finding her. Frannie (Hottinger) found her for a layup and a couple people got the ball to her inside when their defense was collapsing in on us and we were able to kick it out. Our team feeds a lot off of her play and give Kenz a lot of credit for her leadership."
Rider kept things close in the first quarter leading by two points with 6:46 to play, as Lehigh got back in front by two points heading into the 4:13 media timeout. The Broncs were able to take another one-point lead with 2:18 to go, but seven straight points to end the quarter had the Mountain Hawks ahead, 21-15 at the end of one. For the Broncs, it was a stellar start for Raphaela Toussaint, who accounted for all but two points in the frame, leading the way with nine. For Lehigh, Kramer led her teammates with eight first quarter points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Lehigh and Rider traded baskets to open the second quarter with an Amanda Mobley pull-up jumper bringing the Broncs within two and then a Jessika Schiffer turnaround jumper making it a 23-21 Lehigh lead heading into the media timeout with 4:46 left to play in the half. The Mountain Hawks saw a two-point advantage balloon into a six-point lead following back-to-back buckets from Grothaus and Hottinger. A free throw for Hottinger gave Lehigh a 30-23 lead heading into the locker room.
The Mountain Hawks wasted no time expanding on their lead heading into the new half, getting out to an early 9-2 push to take a 14-point, 39-25 lead causing a 30 second timeout to be called by Rider with 7:50 to go. Toussaint scored her 13th point of the contest with 7:10 to play to bring the score within 12 points, but the Mountain Hawks responded with four points from Walker and Meghan O'Brien, extending Lehigh's lead to 16, 43-27.Roll the highlights! 🎥🎄🏀#GoLehigh | #SoarWithUs pic.twitter.com/OjD6mzx9Yk
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) November 27, 2021
Lehigh scored two consecutive shots on 3-pointers with Kramer and Walker going back-to-back, giving the Mountain Hawks a 19-point, 49-30 edge at the 3:06 media timeout. A 12-4 run for Lehigh, pushed the advantage to 24 points, the largest lead of the game to that point, at 58-34 going into the final stanza.
Troyan was able to use most of her bench as the fourth quarter opened up with plenty of individuals seeing playing time late in the contest. Rider scored a bucket with 8:01 to play to cut the deficit to 19 points, but the Mountain Hawks scored eight straight points to extend the lead back to 27 points at 66-39. Sophomore Maddie Albrecht gave Lehigh a 30-point lead with 3:59 to play on her first 3-pointer of the game, as the Broncs went on a 5-0 push to cut the gap to 25 points with just 11 seconds on the clock. Lehigh out-scored Rider, 11-10 in the fourth quarter to prevail with a 69-44 final.
"Rider was a little bit of a different kind of team than we're used to playing," Troyan said. "They are a team that runs a lot of sets. So, we had to prepare just a little bit differently because we couldn't go through a lot of their sets. We talked about the importance of defending action and I thought our kids came out and did a really solid job against a very different team. I thought our defense responded well in terms of defending well and I give Emma (Grothaus) a lot of credit as well. She didn't have a great offensive game, but she carried us on the defensive end today."
Kramer led the way with 21 points, adding four rebounds and two assists to her totals. Hottinger added seven boards with her 10 points, while Walker had 12 points with six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a career-high two blocks against the Broncs. For the sixth straight game to open the season, senior guard Clair Steele tallied at least five assists with six to lead the team. Off the bench, it was a strong effort for first-year forward Meghan O'Brien, pacing the second unit with seven points and seven rebounds in nearly 19 minutes of gameplay.
The Mountain Hawks shot 37.1 percent (26-for-70) from the floor and 36.7 percent (11-for-30) from deep including 85.7 percent (6-for-7) from the free throw line. Lehigh out-rebounded Rider, 52-38 and scored six points on 10 turnovers. The Mountain Hawks finished with the edge in points in the paint (24-20), second chance points (13-2), points off fast breaks (22-0) and bench points (16-12). Lehigh led for nearly the entire contest, in all but almost two minutes.
Lehigh will face Missouri on Sunday in the Christmas City Classic Championship Game. Tip-off is set for noon and will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Lehigh Women's Basketball held Rider to under 40 percent shooting. Fans in attendance received a free appetizer with the purchase of two entrees courtesy of The Brick in Bethlehem.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
Rider
Lehigh
FG%
.300
.371
3FG%
.111
.367
FT%
.556
.857
RB
38
52
TO
10
9
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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