Wednesday, January 20
Annapolis, Md.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
11-7, 4-3
51
at
48
Navy
9-9, 3-4
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
6
12
14
19
51
Navy
7
10
17
14
48
Lehigh earns hard-fought 51-48 victory at Navy
1/20/2016 9:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Lehigh women's basketball team came out on top of a defensive battle that saw 11 lead changes and four ties Wednesday at Navy as the Mountain Hawks topped the Mids 51-48. The win secured Lehigh's first victory over Navy since Jan. 25, 2012 as the Mountain Hawks snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Mids. Lehigh moves to 4-3 in Patriot League play and 11-7 overall with the victory, while Navy falls to 3-4 in league action and 9-9 overall.
"You know when you come into a service academy that it's going to be a hard-fought game and tonight was everything we expected it to be," said head coach Sue Troyan. "I thought our kids really executed when we needed to execute, especially down the stretch. It's really nice to get a win over Navy, who we haven't beaten in a long time, especially on the road."
Junior Lexi Martins secured her 14th double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds, including an offensive putback with 1:25 left in the game that gave Lehigh the lead for good. Sophomore Quinci Mann added 10 points to secure her 11th-straight double-digit scoring effort. Freshman Hailey Pascoe chipped in a career-high nine points, while senior Kerry Kinek tallied eight points and 12 rebounds.
Navy was led by Sarita Condie with 15 points and Peri Curtis with 12.
The Mountain Hawks finished the game shooting 34.6 percent (18-for-52) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-for-24) from three-point range and 50 percent (7-for-14) from the free throw line. Lehigh limited Navy to a 35.8 (19-for-53) field goal percentage and 27.8 percent (5-for-18) clip from downtown. The Mountain Hawks controlled a 42-33 rebound advantage.
Curtis scored the first points just under two minutes into the game for the Mids. Lehigh was plagued by turnovers in the early going as the Mountain Hawks were limited to just three shots in the opening five minutes, but Lehigh's defense held the Mids to 1-for-10 from the field to begin the game. Senior Elizabeth Sharlow was finally able to put Lehigh on the board with 2:58 left on the first-quarter clock. The Mids answered with a layup right away before Mann scored the next four points to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 6-4. A Condie three-pointer ended the term to give the Mids a 7-6 advantage.
Navy stretched its lead to three at 11-8 two minutes into the second quarter, but Lehigh answered with the next four points thanks to baskets from Martins and Kinek that gave the Mountain Hawks their first lead at 12-11 with 5:04 to play. A Curtis jumper put the Mids back up by one 30 seconds later, before three-pointers from Pascoe and junior Kayla Burton helped Lehigh string together a 6-2 run that gave the Mountain Hawks an 18-15 lead with 2:23 left on the first half clock. Curtis added another jumper 20 seconds later to pull Navy within 18-17 and the score would stay there for the rest of the half as Lehigh carried its one-point lead into halftime.
A pair of treys from Pascoe and Mann helped Lehigh score six of the second half's first eight points as the Mountain Hawks stretched their lead to 24-19 with 7:23 left in the third quarter. The Mids scored the next four points to pull within one, but a Kinek free throw was followed by another Pascoe three-pointer to bring Lehigh's advantage to 29-23 with 4:51 on the clock. Three points from Martins helped Lehigh take a 32-25 lead with 3:03 to play, but the Mids scored the final nine points of the term to pull ahead 34-32 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
A Curtis layup opened the fourth quarter and put the Mids up 36-32 before a conventional three-point play from sophomore Bernadette Devaney pulled Lehigh within one. The Mids were back up by three at 38-35, but a Kinek free throw and three-pointer from senior Amina Affini gave Lehigh back the lead at 39-38 with 6:25 to play. The lead changed hands three times over the next two and a half minutes before Navy pulled ahead 48-44 with 2:36 on the clock, but Lehigh responded with a Mann three-pointer and Martins offensive putback to take a 49-48 lead with 1:25 to play.
The Lehigh defense then came up with two big stops before Kinek made the first of two free throw attempts to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 50-48 with 13.9 seconds on the clock. A Navy turnover then sent Martins to the line where she made the backend of two attempts to add an insurance tally and wind the clock down to 8.4 seconds. The Mids had the last chance of the game as Taylor Dunham threw up a three-point attempt that bounced off the rim to cement a 51-48 victory for Lehigh.
The Mountain Hawks return to action Saturday at 7 p.m. when Lehigh hosts archrival Lafayette inside Stabler Arena. Tickets are available at Lehightickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME.
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content and team updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
NAVY
FG%
.346
.358
3FG%
.333
.278
FT%
.500
.556
RB
42
33
TO
15
12
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballChasing Greatness: The Road to the Patriot League Title - Part 2
Thursday, May 15
Chasing Greatness: The Road to the Patriot League Title - Part 1
Wednesday, May 14
Lehigh Sports Central: Women's Basketball
Wednesday, March 19
Lehigh Sports Central: Women's Basketball
Wednesday, January 29
