Wednesday, February 9
Bethlehem, Pa.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
16-6,8-3Patriot
72
vs
56
Colgate
4-19,2-10Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Colgate
10
13
20
13
56
Lehigh
17
21
19
15
72
Photo by: Josh Liddick
22-0 scoring run highlights Mountain Hawks' 72-56 win vs. Colgate
2/9/2022 8:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Sparked by a dominant first half (which included a 22-0 run between the end of the first and start of the second quarter) and efficient 3-point shooting, the Lehigh women's basketball team cruised to their fourth straight home victory, also clinching a winning season for the fourth year in a row with a 72-56 win over Colgate at Stabler Arena Wednesday night. The win is the Mountain Hawks' (16-6, 8-3 PL) third straight and fourth straight over the Raiders (4-19, 2-10 PL), sweeping the season series.
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It was a top-notch offensive effort for the three players who scored in double-figures, led by 17 points for sophomore guard Mackenzie Kramer, 14 for senior forward Emma Grothaus and 11 for senior guard Megan Walker. Also grabbing 10 rebounds, Grothaus secured her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with two blocked shots as well. Senior point guard Clair Steele was back to her old tricks as the primary ball distributor, tallying a career-high tying nine assists, while Lehigh totaled 12 3-pointers as a team, showing 35.3 percent from beyond-the-arc and 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the field.
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"Our focus tonight was on the defensive end as we talked about the importance of our development and growth in that area, especially in February into March," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I don't think you win a championship with just good offense, so we really challenged them to improve their defense over the last two weeks.
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"(Colgate) is a team that really likes to put the ball on the floor and take a lot of pull-up jumpers. The focus tonight was forcing contested two's and not letting them get to the rim. I thought we did a good job of protecting the basket and also did a good job of forcing tough shots."
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The first quarter as a whole was rather bizarre, as scoring runs were the hot topic of the night for both Lehigh and Colgate through the entirety of the first frame and into the second quarter. The Mountain Hawks started the contest on a 9-0 run, causing the Raiders to spend an early 30-second timeout with 6:32 remaining. Out of the break, Colgate scored 10 points in a row to take a 10-9 lead with 2:21 on the clock before Lehigh answered back with eight points on two 3-pointers to end the frame with a 17-10 advantage.
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The second half started off neck-and-neck with the Raiders cutting the deficit to 12 points with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter. Colgate and Lehigh traded two's with Taylor Golembiewski sinking a driving layup heading into the 4:04 media timeout. She had Colgate within 14, 47-33 at that point in the contest. With 3:51 to go, first-year Ella Stemmer connected on a corner 3 to lift Lehigh to a 17-point cushion and that lead became 19 once Stemmer stepped to the line to shoot two. Colgate cut the Lehigh lead to as little as 13 points following a floating jump shot from Morgan McMahon with 39 seconds to play, but a 3-pointer from Kaylee Van Eps gave Lehigh a 16-point lead and two Raider free throws to end the stanza had the game in favor of the Mountain Hawks, 57-43.
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A 9-4 run for Lehigh to open the fourth quarter had it tied for the largest lead of the contest at 21 points, leading 68-47 with 5:02 to play after a 3-pointer from Jamie Behar. The Raiders cut the gap to as little as 14 points in the waning seconds of the fourth period, but a Maggie Brown layup off the Colgate turnover gave Lehigh the distance with a 16-point home victory.
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All 14 players on the Lehigh roster were inserted into Wednesday night's game including quality minutes from Brown, Fabienne Eggenschwiler and Jackie Vargas-Bines. The Mountain Hawks held the edge in points from turnovers (16-11), second chance points (14-7) and bench points (23-14). They also out-rebounded Colgate, 38-36 and forced 18 Raider turnovers on 10 steals and eight total blocks, led by first-year Meghan O'Brien with three.
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Lehigh led for nearly the entire contest, all but 11 seconds in fact, and trailed by only one point with 2:21 left in the first quarter following Colgate's 10-0 run.
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Colgate was led by first year Taylor Golembiewski with 14 points and four boards, while fellow first-year Sophia Diehl added 10 points with seven rebounds. The Raiders shot 39.1 percent (25-for-64) from the field and just 15.4 percent (2-for-13) from distance.
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The Mountain Hawks face archrival Lafayette for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon in Easton, tipping off at 2 p.m. from Kirby Sports Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required). Lehigh will go for its fourth straight victory and ninth Patriot League win on the season against the Leopards, looking to continue its quest for the top seed in March's Patriot League Tournament.
Lehigh Women's Basketball held Colgate 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.
ÂGallery: (2-9-2022) WBB vs. Colgate, 2/9/22
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It was a top-notch offensive effort for the three players who scored in double-figures, led by 17 points for sophomore guard Mackenzie Kramer, 14 for senior forward Emma Grothaus and 11 for senior guard Megan Walker. Also grabbing 10 rebounds, Grothaus secured her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with two blocked shots as well. Senior point guard Clair Steele was back to her old tricks as the primary ball distributor, tallying a career-high tying nine assists, while Lehigh totaled 12 3-pointers as a team, showing 35.3 percent from beyond-the-arc and 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the field.
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"Our focus tonight was on the defensive end as we talked about the importance of our development and growth in that area, especially in February into March," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I don't think you win a championship with just good offense, so we really challenged them to improve their defense over the last two weeks.
Â
"(Colgate) is a team that really likes to put the ball on the floor and take a lot of pull-up jumpers. The focus tonight was forcing contested two's and not letting them get to the rim. I thought we did a good job of protecting the basket and also did a good job of forcing tough shots."
Â
The first quarter as a whole was rather bizarre, as scoring runs were the hot topic of the night for both Lehigh and Colgate through the entirety of the first frame and into the second quarter. The Mountain Hawks started the contest on a 9-0 run, causing the Raiders to spend an early 30-second timeout with 6:32 remaining. Out of the break, Colgate scored 10 points in a row to take a 10-9 lead with 2:21 on the clock before Lehigh answered back with eight points on two 3-pointers to end the frame with a 17-10 advantage.
The first half was headlined by Lehigh's eight 3-pointers, shooing 40 percent (8-for-20) from long distance and 41.2 percent (14-for-34) from the field, while going to the foul line just once, going 2-for-2. Colgate shot 35.5 percent (11-for-31) overall from the floor through the first 20 minutes and made just one basket from distance on seven attempts (14.3 percent) and failed to get to the charity stripe. The Mountain Hawks out-rebounded the Raiders, 23-15 at halftime and were led by Grothaus with nine first-half boards.That was fun. 👀🎞#GoLehigh | #SoarWithUs pic.twitter.com/B32Wtx35bE
— Lehigh Women's Basketball (@LehighWBB) February 10, 2022
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The second half started off neck-and-neck with the Raiders cutting the deficit to 12 points with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter. Colgate and Lehigh traded two's with Taylor Golembiewski sinking a driving layup heading into the 4:04 media timeout. She had Colgate within 14, 47-33 at that point in the contest. With 3:51 to go, first-year Ella Stemmer connected on a corner 3 to lift Lehigh to a 17-point cushion and that lead became 19 once Stemmer stepped to the line to shoot two. Colgate cut the Lehigh lead to as little as 13 points following a floating jump shot from Morgan McMahon with 39 seconds to play, but a 3-pointer from Kaylee Van Eps gave Lehigh a 16-point lead and two Raider free throws to end the stanza had the game in favor of the Mountain Hawks, 57-43.
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A 9-4 run for Lehigh to open the fourth quarter had it tied for the largest lead of the contest at 21 points, leading 68-47 with 5:02 to play after a 3-pointer from Jamie Behar. The Raiders cut the gap to as little as 14 points in the waning seconds of the fourth period, but a Maggie Brown layup off the Colgate turnover gave Lehigh the distance with a 16-point home victory.
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All 14 players on the Lehigh roster were inserted into Wednesday night's game including quality minutes from Brown, Fabienne Eggenschwiler and Jackie Vargas-Bines. The Mountain Hawks held the edge in points from turnovers (16-11), second chance points (14-7) and bench points (23-14). They also out-rebounded Colgate, 38-36 and forced 18 Raider turnovers on 10 steals and eight total blocks, led by first-year Meghan O'Brien with three.
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Lehigh led for nearly the entire contest, all but 11 seconds in fact, and trailed by only one point with 2:21 left in the first quarter following Colgate's 10-0 run.
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Colgate was led by first year Taylor Golembiewski with 14 points and four boards, while fellow first-year Sophia Diehl added 10 points with seven rebounds. The Raiders shot 39.1 percent (25-for-64) from the field and just 15.4 percent (2-for-13) from distance.
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The Mountain Hawks face archrival Lafayette for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon in Easton, tipping off at 2 p.m. from Kirby Sports Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required). Lehigh will go for its fourth straight victory and ninth Patriot League win on the season against the Leopards, looking to continue its quest for the top seed in March's Patriot League Tournament.
Lehigh Women's Basketball held Colgate 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.
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Team Stats
Colg
Lehigh
FG%
.391
.413
3FG%
.154
.353
FT%
1.000
1.000
RB
36
38
TO
18
15
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F/C
/ Women's BasketballG
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