Saturday, December 18
Bethlehem, Pa.
2 p.m.

Lehigh University

7-3,0-0Patriot

82
vs
39

Delaware State

0-9,0-0MEAC

1
2
3
4
F
Delaware St.
7
10
11
11
39
Lehigh
18
20
27
17
82
Photo by: Hannahally Photography

Four get career-highs in Lehigh's 82-39 win over short-handed Delaware State

12/18/2021 5:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Even without the services of two key members of the starting lineup, the Lehigh women's basketball team never trailed and took down short-handed Delaware State by 43 points Saturday afternoon in an 82-39 win at Stabler Arena. 11 Mountain Hawks (7-3) got onto the scoreboard with new career-high scoring totals for four players – first years Ella Stemmer (11), Meghan O'Brien (8) and Kaylee Van Eps (7), as well as sophomore Maggie Brown (5) – while sophomore guard Mackenzie Kramer notched 20 points on a career-high six 3-pointers.
 
"I thought it was an important game for us especially coming out of finals week," said head coach Sue Troyan. "We haven't played in two weeks and the kids have had a lot on their plates with their academic schedules. In a game like this, we have the opportunity for everyone on our roster to get in the game. This was a good tune-up going into a tough GW game on Tuesday."
 
Lehigh's defense did its job despite 14 personal fouls, holding the Hornets (0-9) to just 17.2 percent (11-for-64) from the field and 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from beyond-the-arc. The Mountain Hawks shot 43.2 percent (32-for-74), assisting on 29 of their 32 total field goals for the contest.
 
"I was really pleased with our half-court defense, but a little frustrated with our fouling, sending them to the free throw line quite a bit," said Troyan. "Other than that, I thought we played really solid defense overall."
 
In the first quarter, the Mountain Hawks got out to an early advantage, but the Hornets were able to tie the game twice on two occasions before Lehigh went on an 11-0 run to lead by 11 points, 18-7 heading into the second stanza.
 
Emma Grothaus scored a jumper to put the Mountain Hawks up by 13 points at the 9:21 mark of the second quarter and a 13-6 run had Lehigh leading, 33-13 heading into the media timeout. Lehigh led by as many as 23 points in the second quarter, but Delaware State scored a bucket to trail by 21, 38-17 at halftime.
 
Kramer led all scorers with nine first half points, while Grothaus and Megan Walker each chipped in eight.
 
Lehigh opened the second half on a 10-0 run led off by a 3-pointer for Kramer which gave her 12 points. Delaware State converted on one of two from the free throw line to trail, 48-18 with 5:38 to go. The Mountain Hawks led by as many as 38 points in the third quarter, taking a 65-28 lead into the final stanza after Lehigh out-scored DSU, 27-11 in the frame.
 
Rebekka Twine started the fourth quarter off with a 3-pointer to cut the gap to 34 points at 65-31 with 9:05 to play, but O'Brien scored her final points of the afternoon a minute later to put Lehigh back up by 36.
 
With 6:36 left on the clock, Brown drilled her first career 3-pointer from the right wing, putting Lehigh up by 39, 70-31. Stemmer converted on her second shot from distance to put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 73-34 into the final media timeout. Lehigh was able to maintain its dominant lead, going on a 9-5 push to conclude the quarter, holding on for the 82-39 final. Mackenzie Kramer's 20 points were a game-high, adding six rebounds and four assists, while Ella Stemmer scored 11 with two rebounds and three assists. Meghan O'Brien had a game-high 10 boards with eight points and three blocks, while Kramer and Emma Grothaus each recorded a game-high four assists.
 
The Mountain Hawks scored 16 points off 20 Delaware State turnovers, with seven steals and nine blocks to their ledger. Lehigh led the way in points in the paint (32-12), points off fast breaks (24-7) and bench points (32-3). It never trailed, leading for 38:08 while the game was tied three times.
 
The Hornets were led by Sianny Sanchez-Oliver's 10 points, while Janasia Law added nine and Rebekka Twine had eight. Just seven players made it into the game for Delaware State, while Law led the team with three assists and Zoe Holmes finished with a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Lehigh will conclude non-league play on Tuesday afternoon at George Washington, with tip-off set for 2 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required) with free internet audio provided on Lehighsports.com/watch, Matt Markus on the play-by-play call. Pre-game coverage from the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. begins at 1:50 p.m. ET.
 
"GW is a really well-coached team and are playing well to start the season out of the Atlantic 10," Troyan said. "I think it's going to be a physical game for us and this game was important for us to get back into the swing of things and get some of that rust off. I think playing today against Delaware State was a good prelim for us going into that game.
 
"The importance is that we keep getting better. We've talked a lot to the team about these last five days going into a five-day break and treating this game as our prep for league play. I'm not as concerned about wins and losses as I am about us getting better as a program on both ends of the floor."
 
Lehigh Women's Basketball held Delaware State to under 40 percent shooting. Fans in attendance received a free appetizer with the purchase of two entrees courtesy of The Brick in Bethlehem.
 
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