Feb. 20, 2016
Box Score |
Photo Gallery
EASTON, Pa. -- Jamie O'Hare led four players in double figures with 14 points, but Lafayette struggled to control Lehigh inside throughout Saturday afternoon's contest and fell 80-65 to the Mountain Hawks inside Kirby Sports Center.
Lehigh (16-10, 9-6 PL) had a 42-26 rebounding advantage and a 48-20 disparity in points in the paint. Anna Ptasinski (12 points), Sammy Stipa (11 points) and Maia Hood (10 points) supported O'Hare offensively, while Angela Ribarich chipped in nine points and four blocks for the Leopards.
Lexi Martins registered her 20th double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 boards to lead the Mountain Hawks, who never trailed in the game. Lehigh shot only 5-for-20 from 3-point range, but hit 27-of-42 attempts (64.2 percent) inside the arc to lift its field goal percentage to 51.6 overall.
Turnovers on four of Lafayette's first five possessions allowed Lehigh to open up an early 9-2 advantage, and the visitors maintained a 19-11 edge at the end of the opening quarter.
Ptasinski helped the Leopards stay within striking distance in the second, draining all three of her 3-point attempts. The Maroon and White were 5-for-7 from long distance overall in the half, compared to a 2-for-11 showing for the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh, though, had a commanding 20-12 lead on the glass, including a 9-2 margin in offensive rebounds. That gave the visitors seven extra field goal attempts, and they led 41-32 heading into the intermission. All 12 of Ptasinski's points came in the opening 20 minutes, while O'Hare had five points and four assists at the break.
Lafayette's deficit was still only nine points going into the fourth quarter after the teams played to a 17-17 tie in the third, but the Mountain Hawks scored the first four points of the final frame and never allowed the margin to get back within single digits the rest of the way.
The Leopards were more aggressive inside in the second half, earning 17 trips to the free throw line, and they hit 17-of-21 attempts from the charity stripe overall on the afternoon. Ribarich and O'Hare each hit went 5-for-6 from the line to lead the Maroon and White.
Hood added a career-high four assists to go along with her 10 points, and she also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.
Lafayette (6-19, 4-11) looks to get back on track with a 7 p.m. road game at Bucknell. The Bison (20-6, 14-1 PL) remained in a tie for first place with Army West Point in the conference after topping Boston University by a 72-59 final this afternoon.
Notes:
Ribarich's four blocks were one shy of her season high. She managed five rejections back on Nov. 17 against Penn.
Lafayette committed fewer turnovers than its opponent for a second-consecutive game. The Leopards had 13 giveaways compared to 16 for the Mountain Hawks.
O'Hare, who leads the Patriot League in assists, dished out a game-high six helpers today. She also reached double figures for the 21st time out of 25 games this season.