Posted: 11/28/2012
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Reeling from a 55-50 double-overtime loss to Monmouth on Sunday, the Lehigh women’s basketball team will be searching to rebound with a win against the Wildcats of Villanova on Thursday night. Lehigh will be looking to snap a two-game skid against Nova with their first win at The Pavilion in program history.
Villanova holds a 4-1 record all-time against the Mountain Hawks, but the past two meetings have needed overtime to decide a winner. Last season, the Wildcats pulled out a 62-54 victory over Lehigh inside Stabler Arena after erasing the Mountain Hawks’ eight-point halftime lead before outscoring the brown and white 10-2 in the extra session. Sarah Pearce found success against the Wildcat defense, scoring a team-high 13 points, while Hilary Weaver added eight more.
The meeting before that was a 69-68 overtime victory for Villanova during the 2010-11 season in Lehigh’s only other trip to The Pavilion. Lehigh had two chances to walk away as winners in the match-up, but were unable to convert on either opportunity and was clipped by Nova.
Lehigh’s only victory over the Wildcats came in the 2009-10 season when the Mountain Hawks handed Villanova an 80-65 defeat inside Stabler Arena which began an eight-game winning streak in a season in which Lehigh won the Patriot League title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
The last time Lehigh took the court, the Mountain Hawks built a five-point halftime advantage against the Hawks of Monmouth on Sunday, but ended in a 55-50 double-overtime defeat to conclude the Thanksgiving Challenge. Junior Lindsay Hoskins scored a team-high 10 points, but the Mountain Hawks were outscored 11-6 in the second overtime. The brown and white had chances at the end of regulation and again as the first overtime wound down, but could not find the bottom of the basket and eventually were clipped.
Freshman Kerry Kinek is averaging a double-double with 13.2 ppg and 10.0 rbg and has recently been named the Patriot League’s Anaconda Rookie of the Week after averaging 14.3 ppg and 8.7 rbg in tilts against La Salle, Wagner and Monmouth. Kinek has already recorded two double-doubles over her first five collegiate games while playing the second most minutes on the team. Senior Kelly Peterson is averaging 10.2 ppg and has knocked down a team-best nine treys this season. Hoskins has made major contributions on the offensive and defensive ends for the Mountain Hawks, averaging 8.2 ppg and pulling down 29 rebounds, averaging 5.8 per contest. Senior Marybeth Egan has registered a team-best 17 assists, averaging 3.4 per game which ranks her seventh among Patriot League performers.
The Wildcats will enter Thursday’s tilt with a 4-1 record, the only blemish coming as a 75-60 loss to Minnesota on November 11. Every other contest has ended with the Wildcats winning by at least 10 points, the closest contest a 53-42 win against Bowling Green.
Villanova is led by senior forward Laura Sweeney who is averaging a team-best 15.6 ppg and 6.2 boards per contest, while fellow senior Rachel Roberts is averaging 10.8 ppg in the Wildcat backcourt. Nova has three other players averaging more than seven points per game as sophomore Lauren Burford (7.6 ppg), and junior Devon Kane and freshman Caroline Coyer (7.4 ppg apiece) have all proved to be integral parts of the Wildcat offense.
As a team, Nova is shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from beyond the arc, ranking the Wildcats fifth and second, respectively, among Big East competitors. Villanova is also shooting 81.1 percent from the charity, a category the Wildcats rank second to only Notre Dame (81.7) in the Big East.
After Thursday duel, the Mountain Hawks will travel to Loyola, Md. on Monday December 3 at 7 p.m. to take on the Greyhounds before returning home on December 6 for a tilt with Fairfield with a tip set for 7 p.m.
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Date:
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November 29, 2012
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Opponent:
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Villanova Wildcats
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Tip-off:
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7:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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The Pavilion/6,500
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Location:
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Philadelphia, Pa.
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Lehigh’s Record:
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2-3 overall, 0-0 Patriot League
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Villanova’s Record:
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4-1 overall, 0-0 NEC
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Series:
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Villanova leads, 4-1
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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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