Posted: 02/26/2013
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Coming off its fourth straight double-digit point victory, the Lehigh women’s basketball team looks to carry that momentum when it travels to league-leading Navy on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The Mountain Hawks defeated Lafayette on Senior Night 60-40, using a strong defensive effort coupled with a game-high 16 points from freshman and six-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week Kerry Kinek. Senior Becky Guman added 14 points and nine boards as Lehigh improved to 6-6 in the league and 14-13 overall.
Lehigh has won four straight games by double figures for the first time since last December when it beat Loyola, NJIT, Robert Morris and Rhode Island. It marks the first time against Patriot League foes since the end of the 2010-11 season when it defeated Lafayette, Bucknell and Holy Cross to end the regular season and Lafayette again in the league quarterfinals.
The Mountain Hawks look to continue their recent road success as they’ve won six of their last seven on the road and are 8-4 away from home this season (including one neutral site game). Lehigh continues to impress on the glass, owning a 47-40 rebounding edge Saturday night. That snapped a streak of three straight games with 50 or more boards, but the Mountain Hawks have still owned the rebounding edge in four straight contests and 18 of 27 games this season. Kinek has been a big reason why, standing second in the Patriot League with 8.5 boards per contest, including a school and league record 22 at Bucknell last Wednesday. That helped her win Rookie of the Week laurels for a third straight week and sixth time this season.
The Midshipmen enter in first place with a 17-10 overall record, 10-2 in league play. Both of their losses have come to Army while nine of their 10 league wins have come by double figures, with an overtime win at Lafayette as the only exception.
Reigning Patriot League Player of the Week Jade Geif leads the way averaging 13.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She recently eclipsed 1,000 career points with a career-high tying 22 points against Colgate Saturday. Alix Membreno and Kara Pollinger average double figures, coming in at 11.3 and 10.7 points, respectively. Audrey Bauer is the fourth Midshipman to start all 27 games, averaging 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds. Pollinger leads the team with 104 assists.
Navy stands second in the league in scoring offense (58.7) and second in scoring defense (52.2). The Mids lead the Patriot League in scoring margin (+6.5), are second in field goal percentage (40.0) and third in three-point field goal percentage (33.2).
Lehigh owns a 26-23 edge in the all-time series, but Navy has won two straight. The Mountain Hawks have won nine of the last 12 overall and four of the last five at Navy’s Alumni Hall. Ironically, the last three meetings have all come in Stabler Arena, including the Patriot League Semifinals last season.
The sides first met in 1981-82, a 76-54 Navy victory. The Mids won the first two and four of the first five. Lehigh’s first win in the series was a 71-60 triumph in 1983-84. The Mountain Hawks won eight in a row from 2000-05 then went on to win six straight from 2007-10.
In the earlier meeting this season, Navy connected on 14 three-pointers and shot 40 percent from the field for the 72-47 win. Kinek notched her ninth straight double digit performance with 15 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Mountain Hawks dropped their third straight contest.
Lehigh wraps up the regular season Saturday when it travels to Army to face the Black Knights. Opening tip is set for 1 p.m.
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Date:
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February 27, 2013
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Opponent:
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Navy Midshipmen
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Tip-off:
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7:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Alumni Hall/5,710
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Location:
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Annapolis, Md.
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Lehigh’s Record:
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14-13 overall, 6-6 Patriot League
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Navy’s Record:
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17-10 overall, 10-2 Patriot League
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Series:
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Lehigh leads, 26-23
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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 6:45 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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