Lehigh women’s basketball defeats Lafayette 69-60 on senior day

Going into Saturday afternoon’s game, the Lehigh women’s basketball team had no lack of motivation.

Coming off of a game at Navy in which they shot just 27 percent from the field, the Mountain Hawks (9-17, 4-11 Patriot) were returning home in an attempt to sweep the season series over rival Lafayette for the second consecutive year. To top it all off, it was senior day at Stabler Arena.

The team responded, winning 69-60 over the Leopards in its second-to-last home game of the season.

Three seniors on the team were honored before the game: Kayla Burton, Kiernan McCloskey and Kari Moffat.  All three received the ceremonial start before being subbed out after the opening tipoff. Burton played 15 minutes and finished with three rebounds.

“It’s just so much fun, I loved it (starting),” Burton said. “Everyone was included today, and it was just a really fun atmosphere to be in.”

Despite the extra motivation that was provided for Lehigh, the game started off competitive. Neither team led by more than three points until there was just over a minute left in the first quarter. The Mountain Hawks extended the lead to as much as 10 before going into the half up by just three points.

“I really challenged them that it’s Lehigh-Lafayette, and I’m using the words ‘soft’ and ‘lack of toughness,’” coach Sue Troyan said. “I thought they stepped up in the second half and were much more physical.”

The Mountain Hawks responded to their coach’s halftime talk, pushing the lead back up to 12 over the next six minutes. Lafayette, though, wouldn’t go away, responding with a 9-2 run brought the Leopards back within five.

The teams battled back and forth for the subsequent minutes, but another run from the visiting team brought the lead down to just two points with five minutes to go.

It was then Lehigh’s turn to be resilient, and the team put together an 11-2 run of its own, starting with a 3-pointer from junior Mae Williams, to remove any doubt from the outcome. Troyan said Williams’ 3-pointer was probably the biggest shot of the game.

Burton praised the effort her team showed in grinding out the win.

“It just goes to show that this league is competitive and anyone at any given time can come back, including us, but also including the opponent,” Burton said. “We pulled through, and that’s all that matters. In the beginning of the game we caved, so being able to just rebound and pull away toward the end is what showed us our character as a team.”

Junior Quinci Mann led the Mountain Hawks in scoring for the 16^th time, finishing with 20 points on 8-for-17 shooting.

Freshman Gena Grundhoffer finished second on the team in scoring with 15 points. She hit eight of her 11 free throws while also contributing five rebounds and an assist.

Grundhoffer also spoke about the impact the seniors have had on her and on the rest of the team.

“Every single one of them has affected me in different ways,” Grundhoffer said. “(McCloskey) is a very strong leader, (Moffat) keeps me grounded, (Burton) brings this positivity and has this contagious personality that you can’t help but smile when she walks in a room. I’ve learned a lot from each and every one of them in different ways, so I appreciate everything they’ve done for me.”

The team has three games remaining in its regular season, the first of which will take place at Colgate University on Wednesday. After that, the team will participate in the Patriot League Tournament starting March 4.

“I’m just really excited to show the Patriot League what we have for these last three games,” Grundhoffer said. “We’re not done yet.”