Friday, November 13
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
1-0
95
vs
88
Monmouth
0-1
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
Monmouth
21
23
17
20
7
88
Lehigh
23
14
19
25
14
95
Three score 21 as Lehigh battles back for 95-88 overtime win over Monmouth
11/13/2015 10:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Trailing by as many as ten in the third quarter, the Lehigh women's basketball team rallied to take a four point lead on Monmouth late, only to see the visiting Hawks force overtime. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Hawks 14-7 in the extra period to come away with a 95-81 win Friday night in the season-opener for both teams at Stabler Arena.
Senior Kerry Kinek, junior Lexi Martins and sophomore Quinci Mann all tallied 21 points to lead the Mountain Hawks, who overcame 25 turnovers by shooting 47.6 percent from the field. Kinek was 11-of-11 from the free throw line as the Mountain Hawks stayed in the game by going 30-for-36 at the charity stripe. Martins pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds to register a double-double, while Kinek also notched a double-double with 14 rebounds.
Five Monmouth players reached double figures, led by Jamiyah Bethune's game-high 22.
With the victory, Lehigh has now won its last three season openers and four of its last five home openers.
"It wasn't our prettiest basketball but I'm proud of how our kids competed, especially in overtime," Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan said. "We did everything we could to allow them to force overtime but I thought our girls really responded well and made some big plays and big shots down the stretch. I'm proud of how they competed from that standpoint down the stretch."
Monmouth went out to a 15-10 lead just over halfway into the fourth quarter before Lehigh battled back. A three-pointer by junior Elizabeth Jordan gave Lehigh its first lead of the night and Lehigh went on to lead 23-21 after the opening ten minutes.
Turnovers plagued the Mountain Hawks in the second quarter as Lehigh turned the ball over 11 times in the period, leading to 12 Monmouth points. Bethune had three quick second-quarter layups to put Monmouth in front 27-23. The Hawks' lead ballooned to as much as 12 on a Bethune layup with just over four minutes left before halftime. A total of four free throws from Kinek and then Mann brought Lehigh within 44-37 at halftime.
The Mountain Hawks shot 42.9 percent in the opening half, but 16 turnovers led to 21 Monmouth points. Kinek led Lehigh with 12 points, while Martins finished the first half with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Lehigh attempted to claw back early in the third, but Monmouth's lead grew back to 10 at 58-48 with 2:43 left in the quarter after back-to-back fast break layups by Jasmine Walker. A three-pointer from sophomore Bernadette Devaney left Lehigh down five at 61-56 after three quarters.
In the fourth, the Mountain Hawks kept themselves in striking distance and took their first lead since the end of the first quarter on a layup by senior Elizabeth Sharlow with 5:35 left in regulation. The lead went back-and-forth six times over the next four and a half minutes before a jumper from Mann and a layup by Sharlow gave Lehigh a 78-75 lead with just under a minute to play.
Monmouth refused to go away, however, as a Christina Mitchell bucket put the Hawks back within one. Free throws from Kinek and Martins gave Lehigh an 81-77 lead with 16 seconds to play before a Mitchell put back brought Monmouth back within two. On Lehigh's ensuing possession, the Mountain Hawks turned the ball over and Martins fouled Walker, who calmly sank both free throws to send the game into overtime tied at 81.
A Mitchell three-pointer gave Monmouth an 84-83 lead 90 seconds into the overtime period but Lehigh took the lead for good on a pretty feed from Martins to Kinek with 1:57 to play. Mann helped extend Lehigh's cushion with a pair of three-pointers and the Mountain Hawks 3-of-4 free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.
"They did a nice job," Troyan said of Lehigh's free throw prowess. "Kerry was 11-for-11 and as a team we were 30-for-36 and that was big portion of our game. They (Monmouth) put a lot of pressure on us and did a lot of fouling so it was important that we made our free throws when we got into the double-bonus. Our kids took advantage of that.
"We had three players score 20 points," Troyan continued. "I don't think we've had that happen in a while. On the offensive end there were certainly a lot of good things. Turnovers were probably the biggest problem but in the second half we did a much better job handling their pressure and taking care of the basketball and that was probably the difference in the game as well."
Lehigh shot just 5-of-22 from beyond the three-point arc, but held a 55-50 advantage on the glass. The Mountain Hawks held Monmouth to 34 percent shooting for the game, but the Hawks stayed alive by converting 10-of-45 three-point attempts. Olson added 18 points for Monmouth, while Mitchell had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Junior Kayla Burton led all players with seven assists.
The Mountain Hawks will host Kutztown Sunday at 2 p.m. inside Stabler Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com.
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Team Stats
MU-W
LEHIGH
FG%
.340
.476
3FG%
.222
.227
FT%
.625
.833
RB
50
55
TO
11
25
STL
18
5
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
21
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
11
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
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