Monday, March 7
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
18-12
64
vs
48
Holy Cross
13-17
1
2
3
4
F
Holy Cross
6
10
16
16
48
Lehigh
16
17
20
11
64
Mountain Hawks earn dominant 64-48 win in Patriot League Quarterfinals
3/7/2016 9:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The fourth-seeded Lehigh women's basketball team got out to a quick lead and never looked back as the Mountain Hawks earned a wire-to-wire 64-48 win over No. 5 Holy Cross in the Patriot League Quarterfinals Monday night in Stabler Arena. Lehigh advances to its second straight Patriot League Semifinal as the Mountain Hawks will travel to top-seeded Army West Point to take on the Black Knights Friday. The Mountain Hawks improve to 18-12 overall with the quarterfinal win as Holy Cross' season ends at 13-17.
"I thought today was our best defensive game of the year," said head coach Sue Troyan. "Our kids did a really good job of executing our defensive game plan and we gained a lot of energy to that. Our four seniors brought a sense of urgency tonight and that's really what made the difference."
Four Lehigh players scored in double-figures, led by senior Kerry Kinek with 18 points and seven rebounds. Junior Lexi Martins tallied her 24th double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Sophomore Quinci Mann chipped in 11 points and four assists, while senior Amina Affini tallied 10 points.
The Mountain Hawks finished the game shooting 35.2 percent (19-for-54) from the field, 36.8 percent (7-for-19) from three-point range and 67.9 percent (19-for-28) from the free throw line. The Lehigh defense turned out one of its best performances of the season, limiting the Crusaders to a 27.7 percent (18-for-65) clip from the field, 15.4 (4-for-26) three-point field goal percentage and 50.0 percent (8-for-16) mark from the charity stripe. Lehigh held a dominant 51-36 rebound edge.
The Mountain Hawks held the Crusaders scoreless for the first three minutes of the game and got out to a quick 8-0 lead thanks to three-pointers from Martins and Affini and a layup from sophomore Taylor Campbell. Holy Cross used a layup to get on the board at the 7:02 mark, but Lehigh scored four of the next six points to hold onto its eight-point lead at 12-4 with 6:06 on the clock. A Crusader layup snapped a two-plus minute scoring streak with 3:51 left in the first quarter, but four points from Kinek ended the quarter as Lehigh took a 16-6 lead.
Lehigh spent the first 6:37 of the second quarter on a 15-4 run thanks to three made field goals and seven points from the charity stripe as the Mountain Hawk defense held the Crusaders to a 1-for-8 clip from the field to extend Lehigh's lead to 31-10 with 4:05 left in the half. Holy Cross was able to score the next six points, but a Martins layup ended the term and allowed Lehigh to carry a 33-16 lead into the locker room.
Lehigh finished the first half shooting 33.3 percent (10-for-30) from the field, but held a 29-13 rebound advantage and limited the Crusaders to a 22.2 (6-for-27) field goal percentage.
An Affini layup opened the second half as the teams traded baskets through the first three minutes and Lehigh held onto its 17-point lead at 40-23 with 7:04 on the clock. A pair of Martins free throws sparked a 6-0 run over the next minute and a half that gave Lehigh its largest lead yet at 46-23 with 5:34 left in the term. The Crusaders countered with a 7-2 run to trim the lead to 48-30, but five points from Kinek padded the Lehigh advantage to 53-32 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
The Crusaders were able to make it interesting in the fourth quarter as Holy Cross put together an 11-2 run to open the frame and cut Lehigh's lead to 55-42 with 5:30 to play. The Crusaders found themselves in foul trouble and Lehigh was able to convert 7 of its final 10 chances down the stretch and Holy Cross could never complete the comeback as the Mountain Hawks earned a 64-48 win and a trip to the Patriot League Semifinals.
The Mountain Hawks will head to top-seeded Army for the Patriot League Semifinals Friday at a time to be determined. Free video will be available on the Patriot League Network. The winner will advance to Saturday's championship game against the winner of No. 2 Bucknell/No. 3 Loyola.
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Team Stats
HC
LEHIGH
FG%
.277
.352
3FG%
.154
.368
FT%
.500
.679
RB
36
51
TO
14
22
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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