Wednesday, January 5
Bethlehem, Pa.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
10-3,2-0Patriot
62
vs
55
Army West Point
6-5,1-1Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Army West Point
6
27
13
9
55
Lehigh
13
16
19
14
62
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Lehigh prevails, 62-55, in hard-fought defensive battle vs. Army
1/5/2022 10:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A hard-fought defensive battle ended up going in the Lehigh women's basketball team's favor, as the Mountain Hawks (10-3, 2-0 PL) out-paced Army West Point in the second half to come away with the 62-55 victory Wednesday night at Stabler Arena on Salute to Service presented by Weis Markets. The win is Lehigh's fifth straight and it improves to 8-1 at home, the program's best start on its home floor since 2010-11. The victory also marks the Mountain Hawks' 10th of the season, becoming the first NCAA Division I women's team from Pennsylvania to reach 10 wins.
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After an exceptional performance to beat Colgate on Sunday, senior Emma Grothaus shined again, scoring 15 points with nine rebounds and three blocks to best the Black Knights (6-5, 1-1 PL). Sophomore Mackenzie Kramer matched Grothaus with 15 points with a trio of 3-pointers and four boards.
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"We knew Army was going to be tough tonight," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I thought our kids matched their toughness. That was one of our goals coming in. We knew we were going to have to play four quarters and we also knew defense was going to win the game. They made it tough for us on the offensive end and we made it tough for them and it was a well-played game on both ends."
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Both teams struggled shooting the ball overall, as Lehigh shot just 32.8 percent (21-for-64) from the field in the victory while holding Army to just 35.4 percent (23-for-65) and 20 percent (4-for-20) from long range. As they normally do, free throw shooting proved to be the difference-maker as Lehigh shot 11-for-14 from the foul line.
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The shooting struggles were evident by the first quarter alone, as Lehigh led just 7-4 at the 3:09 mark of the first frame following Kramer's step-back jumper. Sophomore Maddie Albrecht's second 3-pointer of the night made it a six-point game, making the score 10-4 with 2:09 remaining. Two free throws for Albrecht had Lehigh out in front by eight points, but Army was able to cut it to seven by the end of stanza, as the Mountain Hawks held onto a 13-6 lead after the first 10 minutes.
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Lehigh led by as many as seven points to open the second quarter after a driving layup from Kramer, but Army continued to claw back and brought the deficit back within one-point heading into the media timeout at the 6:13 mark. An intentional foul charged to senior Clair Steele sparked a 7-0 run for the Black Knights following a two-shot technical foul and the ball, as Army took a 22-17 lead with 4:49 left. Kramer answered back with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to three with 3:21 on the clock. Two consecutive Army 3-pointers from Alisa Fallon and Lauren Lithgow put the Black Knights in front by eight, but the Mountain Hawks were able to come back within four points by the end of the half following a Kramer step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer.
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It was a strong second period for Army, who out-scored Lehigh 27-16 in the frame and shot the lights out, going 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the field and converting on three of its four 3-point jumpers.
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"We felt we were getting good shots in the first half, but they weren't falling for us," said Troyan. "I think it was just being able to stay confident with what we were doing. I thought we did a better job in the second half of getting the ball inside to Emma (Grothaus) and put her in some situations where she could go one-on-one. I thought our guards did a good job of penetrating and kicking out too, that was a point of emphasis coming out of the second half."
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Grothaus started the scoring for Lehigh coming out of the locker room in the third quarter with a pretty layup to trim the margin to just two points with 9:33 to go. A mini 4-0 run for the Black Knights brought Army back to six-point lead but junior Anna Harvey answered back with a driving layup with 7:05 to go to make it a 37-33 ballgame. Lithgow put Army back ahead by seven with 5:18 to play, but two Lehigh 3-pointers courtesy of Kramer and first year Meghan O'Brien had the Mountain Hawks down three with 3:39 to go into the media timeout.
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As the game had went for the previous 30 minutes, neither team was willing to give an inch at the start of the fourth quarter with both sides trading baskets as Kamryn Hall put the Black Knights ahead by one with 8:52 left and Grothaus sunk a layup off the fast break to give Lehigh back the lead at 50-49. Junior Frannie Hottinger came alive with 7:21 to play, a driving layup off an Army turnover to extend the Mountain Hawk lead to three. Kate Murray and Hope Brown were able to keep the Black Knights within one point halfway through the fourth, but the combination of Grothaus and Hottinger was too much, combining for five points to put Lehigh up four with 4:34 to go. The next four minutes passed without a basket for either team, as the Black Knights were forced to foul to put Lehigh on the free throw line, extending the lead to seven to close out the contest.
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Despite the win in the end, Lehigh was out-rebounded, 44-42. However, the Mountain Hawks finished with the edge in points from turnovers (14-8) and bench points (19-15). Second chance points were tied, 4-4.
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Besides Grothaus and Kramer's 15-point performances, Albrecht led the second unit with eight points and three rebounds with three blocks. Steele led the way with four assists in her first game back since the end of November.
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"It was really big having Clair back in the lineup for us tonight," Troyan said. "Her and Frannie (Hottinger) are both working themselves back into a groove. They've both missed a significant amount of time, but Frannie made some big shots for us in the fourth quarter that gave us the go-ahead in this game. It was good to see both of them gaining some confidence and getting back onto the floor.
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"It's going to be a work in progress though, we're not playing our best basketball yet. But to get a solid win over a really good Army team – I'm real proud of the kids."
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Along with Boston University, the Mountain Hawks are atop the standings at 2-0 to start Patriot League play. Lehigh's five-game win streak is its longest since winning six straight from Dec. 29 to Jan. 15, 2020.
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The Mountain Hawks head to Worcester this weekend to face Holy Cross at the Hart Center on Saturday at noon. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required).
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Lehigh Women's Basketball held Army 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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Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.Gallery: (1-5-2022) WBB vs. Army, 1/5/22
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After an exceptional performance to beat Colgate on Sunday, senior Emma Grothaus shined again, scoring 15 points with nine rebounds and three blocks to best the Black Knights (6-5, 1-1 PL). Sophomore Mackenzie Kramer matched Grothaus with 15 points with a trio of 3-pointers and four boards.
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"We knew Army was going to be tough tonight," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I thought our kids matched their toughness. That was one of our goals coming in. We knew we were going to have to play four quarters and we also knew defense was going to win the game. They made it tough for us on the offensive end and we made it tough for them and it was a well-played game on both ends."
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Both teams struggled shooting the ball overall, as Lehigh shot just 32.8 percent (21-for-64) from the field in the victory while holding Army to just 35.4 percent (23-for-65) and 20 percent (4-for-20) from long range. As they normally do, free throw shooting proved to be the difference-maker as Lehigh shot 11-for-14 from the foul line.
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The shooting struggles were evident by the first quarter alone, as Lehigh led just 7-4 at the 3:09 mark of the first frame following Kramer's step-back jumper. Sophomore Maddie Albrecht's second 3-pointer of the night made it a six-point game, making the score 10-4 with 2:09 remaining. Two free throws for Albrecht had Lehigh out in front by eight points, but Army was able to cut it to seven by the end of stanza, as the Mountain Hawks held onto a 13-6 lead after the first 10 minutes.
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Lehigh led by as many as seven points to open the second quarter after a driving layup from Kramer, but Army continued to claw back and brought the deficit back within one-point heading into the media timeout at the 6:13 mark. An intentional foul charged to senior Clair Steele sparked a 7-0 run for the Black Knights following a two-shot technical foul and the ball, as Army took a 22-17 lead with 4:49 left. Kramer answered back with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to three with 3:21 on the clock. Two consecutive Army 3-pointers from Alisa Fallon and Lauren Lithgow put the Black Knights in front by eight, but the Mountain Hawks were able to come back within four points by the end of the half following a Kramer step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer.
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It was a strong second period for Army, who out-scored Lehigh 27-16 in the frame and shot the lights out, going 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the field and converting on three of its four 3-point jumpers.
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"We felt we were getting good shots in the first half, but they weren't falling for us," said Troyan. "I think it was just being able to stay confident with what we were doing. I thought we did a better job in the second half of getting the ball inside to Emma (Grothaus) and put her in some situations where she could go one-on-one. I thought our guards did a good job of penetrating and kicking out too, that was a point of emphasis coming out of the second half."
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Grothaus started the scoring for Lehigh coming out of the locker room in the third quarter with a pretty layup to trim the margin to just two points with 9:33 to go. A mini 4-0 run for the Black Knights brought Army back to six-point lead but junior Anna Harvey answered back with a driving layup with 7:05 to go to make it a 37-33 ballgame. Lithgow put Army back ahead by seven with 5:18 to play, but two Lehigh 3-pointers courtesy of Kramer and first year Meghan O'Brien had the Mountain Hawks down three with 3:39 to go into the media timeout.
Right out of the short break, Harvey took advantage of a fast break opportunity and pulled up from the top of the key to nail a 3-pointer to tie the game back up at 42. A 3-pointer at the buzzer from sophomore Jamie Behar allowed the Mountain Hawks to re-gain the lead, 48-46 heading into the fourth quarter.🦅 > ⚔
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) January 6, 2022
Getting the HUGE dub over Army at Stabler Arena!#GoLehigh | #SoarWithUs pic.twitter.com/4gF2HerLs2
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As the game had went for the previous 30 minutes, neither team was willing to give an inch at the start of the fourth quarter with both sides trading baskets as Kamryn Hall put the Black Knights ahead by one with 8:52 left and Grothaus sunk a layup off the fast break to give Lehigh back the lead at 50-49. Junior Frannie Hottinger came alive with 7:21 to play, a driving layup off an Army turnover to extend the Mountain Hawk lead to three. Kate Murray and Hope Brown were able to keep the Black Knights within one point halfway through the fourth, but the combination of Grothaus and Hottinger was too much, combining for five points to put Lehigh up four with 4:34 to go. The next four minutes passed without a basket for either team, as the Black Knights were forced to foul to put Lehigh on the free throw line, extending the lead to seven to close out the contest.
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Despite the win in the end, Lehigh was out-rebounded, 44-42. However, the Mountain Hawks finished with the edge in points from turnovers (14-8) and bench points (19-15). Second chance points were tied, 4-4.
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Besides Grothaus and Kramer's 15-point performances, Albrecht led the second unit with eight points and three rebounds with three blocks. Steele led the way with four assists in her first game back since the end of November.
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"It was really big having Clair back in the lineup for us tonight," Troyan said. "Her and Frannie (Hottinger) are both working themselves back into a groove. They've both missed a significant amount of time, but Frannie made some big shots for us in the fourth quarter that gave us the go-ahead in this game. It was good to see both of them gaining some confidence and getting back onto the floor.
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"It's going to be a work in progress though, we're not playing our best basketball yet. But to get a solid win over a really good Army team – I'm real proud of the kids."
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Along with Boston University, the Mountain Hawks are atop the standings at 2-0 to start Patriot League play. Lehigh's five-game win streak is its longest since winning six straight from Dec. 29 to Jan. 15, 2020.
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The Mountain Hawks head to Worcester this weekend to face Holy Cross at the Hart Center on Saturday at noon. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required).
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Lehigh Women's Basketball held Army 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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Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
ARM
Lehigh
FG%
.354
.328
3FG%
.200
.290
FT%
.833
.786
RB
44
42
TO
17
11
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
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