Posted: 12/19/2012
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Riding a two-game winning streak including a 23-point victory over Niagara on December 8, the Lehigh women’s basketball team will return to the hardwood after a 12-day hiatus to take on Sacred Heart on Thursday, December 20. The Mountain Hawks will play the third game of a five-game homestand that lasts throughout December against the Pioneers under the Stabler Arena lights at 7 p.m.
Lehigh holds a 4-3 all-time record against Sacred Heart, but the Mountain Hawks’ three-game winning streak over the Pioneers was snapped last season with a 68-51 loss in Fairfield, Conn. Last season’s win was the first for Sacred Heart over Lehigh since the 2000-01 season in which the Pioneers were able to defeat the Mountain Hawks 70-52 inside Stabler Arena. That victory is the only time Sacred Heart has beaten the Mountain Hawks inside Stabler in program history.
The Mountain Hawks will enter Thursday’s game riding a two-game winning streak which includes a 23-point victory over Niagara on December 8 in which four different Mountain Hawks set career marks and a 15-point comeback win over Fairfield just two days prior. Lehigh trailed at 17-2 early in the game, but held the Stags to just 12 second half points, all coming via treys, for the 47-42 win.
In part of holding the Stags to just 12 points over the final 20 minutes, the Mountain Hawks kept Fairfield off the free throw line throughout the entire game and did not allow a two-point field goal in the second half. Freshmen Kerry Kinek and Elizabeth Sharlow were the leading scorers for Lehigh, each tallying nine points, while junior Hilary Weaver added eight points and four boards.
Against Niagara, Lehigh took a 25-22 lead into halftime, but exploded in the second half to outscore the Purple Eagles 47-27 over the final 20 minutes. Sharlow pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds, a single-game season high for Lehigh, while junior Alexandra Yantzi scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards, both career marks. Sophomore Katie O’Reilly was the game’s leading scorer with a career-best 16 points. Freshman Elizabeth Jordan scored four points via a trey and a free throw to eclipse her previous career-high of three points set earlier in the season against Villanova.
The Mountain Hawks will be looking to ride their momentum and winning streak into Thursday’s tilt with Sacred Heart as Lehigh begins the final stretch of non-league play leading into their first match against a Patriot League opponent on January 12 at Holy Cross.
Kinek leads the Lehigh offense with 12.7 points per game and is also averaging a team-best 9.7 boards per contest. Following Kinek is senior Kelly Peterson who is averaging 8.6 ppg, while junior Lindsay Hoskins is second with 5.3 rbg. Weaver and senior Marybeth Egan have combined for 38 assists on the year as the two have run the Lehigh point position as Egan leads with 20.
As a team, Lehigh is shooting 34.2 percent from the field and 67.7 percent from the charity stripe. The Mountain Hawks have been a second half team this season thus far, averaging about a three-point deficit entering the half, but outscoring opponents approximately 29-27 over the final 20 minutes.
Sacred Heart enters Thursday’s game fresh off a 55-38 victory over Manhattan on Monday night. The Pioneers used a strong defense that limited Manhattan to a 25.0 percent shooting percentage for the game and two 15-point performances on the offensive end by Kiley Evans and Gabrielle Washington for the win.
The Pioneers have relied on their first half defense thus far this season, limiting opponents to just 243 points (27.0 ppg) in the first half, while Sacred Heart averages nearly 30 points before the half over its nine games in 2012.
Sacred Heart is led by Washington who averages 16.3 ppg, while two other Pioneers average double digits as Evans (10.4) and Morgan Merriman (11.7) have each made major contributions on the offensive end this season. Evans and Enjoli Bland lead the team in rebounding, each averaging 5.2 boards per contest, while Erika Norman runs the point guard position with 6.6 assists per game.
The Pioneers have split their last four games, alternating wins and losses. One of Sacred Heart’s five wins this season came against Patriot League-foe Colgate, while another victory came against Saint Peter’s (79-34), a squad Lehigh has faced this year and also beaten (62-60).
After Thursday’s tilt with Sacred Heart, Lehigh will begin its preparations for the Christmas City Classic which is set to begin on December 29 with a match up against Binghamton. The Mountain Hawks will then host Boston in the second half of the Classic the following evening. Both games are scheduled to tip at 4:30 p.m. inside Stabler Arena.
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Date:
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December 20, 2012
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Opponent:
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Sacred Heart Pioneers
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Tip-off:
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7:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Stabler Arena/5,600
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Location:
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Bethlehem, Pa.
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Lehigh’s Record:
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4-5 overall, 0-0 Patriot League
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Sacred Heart’s Record:
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5-4 overall, 0-0 NEC
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Series:
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Lehigh leads, 4-3
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Radio:
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Live on WLVR 91.3 and Lehighsports.com with Matt Markus Pregame coverage gets underway at 1:45 PM
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Television:
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None
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Internet Video:
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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