Sunday, November 28
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
5-2,0-0Patriot
67
vs
88
Missouri (Championship)
7-0,0-0SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Missouri
14
36
24
14
88
Lehigh
19
15
14
19
67
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Mizzou's strong second quarter downs Mountain Hawks in Christmas City Classic
11/28/2021 3:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A defensive-sound first quarter of play didn't end up spelling victory for the Lehigh women's basketball team, burned by a 36-15 second for Missouri, as the Tigers knocked off the Mountain Hawks (5-2), 88-67 in the Championship Game of the Christmas City Classic presented by SureStay PLUS Hotel by Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel and Conference Center on Sunday afternoon at Stabler Arena. The loss snaps Lehigh's three-game win streak and 13-game non-league home win streak dating back to 2018.
Senior Megan Walker opened up the scoring in the first quarter for Lehigh with her first of four 3-pointers for the contest, as the Mountain Hawks got out to an 11-5 lead with 5:31 to play into the media timeout at the 4:32 mark. Mizzou cut the gap back to three points at 11-8 with 4:16 left on the clock, however, five straight points from Frannie Hottinger pushed the Lehigh lead back to eight points at 16-8. Mizzou reduced the deficit to as little as four points, as the Mountain Hawks held on for a 19-14 lead at the first break.
"I thought the first quarter was the best quarter of basketball we have played on both ends of the floor this season," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I thought our kids played with a toughness particularly inside against them and really forced them into making tough shots. We got some stops, rebounded well and that allowed our transition game to open up as well. Our defense definitely created our offense in the first half.
"In the second, Mizzou got hot from the 3 and I was a little disappointed to how we responded to that. They made a big run and it was a good opportunity for us to learn from that situation and how we need to combat that and get better and play a lot tougher going forward."
A 3-pointer and free throw for Hottinger in the first minute of the second quarter upped the Lehigh lead back to nine points, 23-14, but Mizzou answered back on back-to-back 3-pointers from Lauren Hansen to cut the gap to 23-20 with 8:18 to go as the Mountain Hawks took a 30-second timeout, which became the media.
Two consecutive layups for Aijha Blackwell gave Mizzou its first lead of the game with 6:51 to play in the second. Mackenzie Kramer put the Mountain Hawks back up by a pair on a 3-pointers with 6:26 remaining, but the Tigers used a 26-8 run to close the stanza with a 50-34 advantage heading into the locker room.
Mizzou scored eight straight points to open the third quarter with a 24-point, 58-34 lead with 7:06 to play in the frame, as Hansen continued her torrid pace with a driving layup and pull-up jumper to get to 25 points on the afternoon. Lehigh used an Emma Grothaus 3-pointer with 6:00 to go to halt the Mizzou push for a moment, as the Mountain Hawks scored four more points to get within 16, but the Tigers had the lead balloon to 21 with 3:52 to go heading into the media timeout.
Coming out of the brief break, Mizzou scored nine straight points to lead by 30, 71-41 as Troyan called a timeout with 2:14 to go. Hansen got to 30 points with a 3-pointer with 1:47 to play in the frame, extending the Tiger lead to 33 points at 74-41. Two makes for Meghan O'Brien and a 3-pointer for Megan Walker cut the deficit to 74-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
Four Mountain Hawks finished in double figures led by Mackenzie Kramer's 16 points, followed by Frannie Hottinger (13), Megan Walker (12) and Emma Grothaus (11). Grothaus also added nine rebounds and a pair of assists. Kramer and Clair Steele each registered four assists, as Steele failed to tally at least five helpers for the first time this season. It was another top-notch effort from Meghan O'Brien off the bench as she led the second unit with seven points and five boards on 3-for-4 shooting in nearly 17 minutes of action.
Lehigh shot 39 percent (23-for-59) from the field in the contest, including 45.5 percent (15-for-33) from the 3-point line and 75 percent (6-for-8) from the charity stripe. Mizzou finished with the edge in rebounding (43-31), points from turnovers (26-10), points in the paint (28-16), second chance points (10-8) and bench points (21-12). The Mountain Hawks had a 13-12 advantage in points off fast breaks.
Sophomore Mackenzie Kramer and senior Megan Walker were named to the Christmas City Classic All-Tournament team for Lehigh. Other members of the team include Mizzou's Hayley Frank (MVP) and Lauren Hansen, Columbia's Abbey Hsu and Rider's Makayla Firebaugh.
Following four straight games at Stabler Arena, the Mountain Hawks head back on the road to face Villanova on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on FloSports (subscription required) with free internet audio provided via Lehighsports.com with Matt Markus on the play-by-play call. Pre-game coverage from Finneran Pavilion will begin at 6:50 p.m.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Senior Megan Walker opened up the scoring in the first quarter for Lehigh with her first of four 3-pointers for the contest, as the Mountain Hawks got out to an 11-5 lead with 5:31 to play into the media timeout at the 4:32 mark. Mizzou cut the gap back to three points at 11-8 with 4:16 left on the clock, however, five straight points from Frannie Hottinger pushed the Lehigh lead back to eight points at 16-8. Mizzou reduced the deficit to as little as four points, as the Mountain Hawks held on for a 19-14 lead at the first break.
"I thought the first quarter was the best quarter of basketball we have played on both ends of the floor this season," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I thought our kids played with a toughness particularly inside against them and really forced them into making tough shots. We got some stops, rebounded well and that allowed our transition game to open up as well. Our defense definitely created our offense in the first half.
"In the second, Mizzou got hot from the 3 and I was a little disappointed to how we responded to that. They made a big run and it was a good opportunity for us to learn from that situation and how we need to combat that and get better and play a lot tougher going forward."
Lehigh shot the ball well through the first quarter of play, shooting 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from the field and 62.5 percent (5-for-8) from downtown. The Tigers shot just 25 percent (2-for-8) from distance and converted on just six of their 17 first quarter shots..@EmmaGrothaus is oozing physicality. Bodies up her defender and gets the shot to fall.
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) November 28, 2021
Watch: https://t.co/2g4FRyrZXL pic.twitter.com/tgkakE65KA
A 3-pointer and free throw for Hottinger in the first minute of the second quarter upped the Lehigh lead back to nine points, 23-14, but Mizzou answered back on back-to-back 3-pointers from Lauren Hansen to cut the gap to 23-20 with 8:18 to go as the Mountain Hawks took a 30-second timeout, which became the media.
Two consecutive layups for Aijha Blackwell gave Mizzou its first lead of the game with 6:51 to play in the second. Mackenzie Kramer put the Mountain Hawks back up by a pair on a 3-pointers with 6:26 remaining, but the Tigers used a 26-8 run to close the stanza with a 50-34 advantage heading into the locker room.
The second period completely belonged to Mizzou, who shot 68.4 percent (13-for-19) from the field and 75 percent (9-for-12) from distance including six 3-pointers for Hansen alone, converting on all six of her attempts. Hansen's 21 first half points were a game-high at the time, as she ended up finishing with 34 for the contest..@MackenzieK23 continues to impress on the catch-and-shoot. Three more for the sophomore.
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) November 28, 2021
Watch: https://t.co/2g4FRyrZXL#GoLehigh | #SoarWithUs pic.twitter.com/2jeOufCZsy
Mizzou scored eight straight points to open the third quarter with a 24-point, 58-34 lead with 7:06 to play in the frame, as Hansen continued her torrid pace with a driving layup and pull-up jumper to get to 25 points on the afternoon. Lehigh used an Emma Grothaus 3-pointer with 6:00 to go to halt the Mizzou push for a moment, as the Mountain Hawks scored four more points to get within 16, but the Tigers had the lead balloon to 21 with 3:52 to go heading into the media timeout.
Coming out of the brief break, Mizzou scored nine straight points to lead by 30, 71-41 as Troyan called a timeout with 2:14 to go. Hansen got to 30 points with a 3-pointer with 1:47 to play in the frame, extending the Tiger lead to 33 points at 74-41. Two makes for Meghan O'Brien and a 3-pointer for Megan Walker cut the deficit to 74-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
Lehigh trotted out a lineup that including freshmen Kaylee Van Eps and O'Brien to begin the fourth quarter of action and was able to play toe-to-toe with Mizzou for the opening minutes of the final stanza. The Mountain Hawks went on a 16-9 run to claw back within 21 points following an Ella Stemmer layup with 3:24 to play. A 3-pointer for Jamie Behar cut the gap to 19, but Mizzou used a layup with 19 seconds left to propel the team to an 88-67 victory.That's 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ career 3-pointers for @walkermegan_!
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) November 28, 2021
Just the 11th player in program history to reach the milestone.
Watch: https://t.co/2g4FRyrZXL pic.twitter.com/4YGToThAC2
Four Mountain Hawks finished in double figures led by Mackenzie Kramer's 16 points, followed by Frannie Hottinger (13), Megan Walker (12) and Emma Grothaus (11). Grothaus also added nine rebounds and a pair of assists. Kramer and Clair Steele each registered four assists, as Steele failed to tally at least five helpers for the first time this season. It was another top-notch effort from Meghan O'Brien off the bench as she led the second unit with seven points and five boards on 3-for-4 shooting in nearly 17 minutes of action.
Lehigh shot 39 percent (23-for-59) from the field in the contest, including 45.5 percent (15-for-33) from the 3-point line and 75 percent (6-for-8) from the charity stripe. Mizzou finished with the edge in rebounding (43-31), points from turnovers (26-10), points in the paint (28-16), second chance points (10-8) and bench points (21-12). The Mountain Hawks had a 13-12 advantage in points off fast breaks.
Sophomore Mackenzie Kramer and senior Megan Walker were named to the Christmas City Classic All-Tournament team for Lehigh. Other members of the team include Mizzou's Hayley Frank (MVP) and Lauren Hansen, Columbia's Abbey Hsu and Rider's Makayla Firebaugh.
Following four straight games at Stabler Arena, the Mountain Hawks head back on the road to face Villanova on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on FloSports (subscription required) with free internet audio provided via Lehighsports.com with Matt Markus on the play-by-play call. Pre-game coverage from Finneran Pavilion will begin at 6:50 p.m.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
Mizzou
Lehigh
FG%
.485
.390
3FG%
.484
.455
FT%
.636
.750
RB
43
31
TO
13
14
STL
5
3
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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