Nov. 29, 2004

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Two late free throws by Lehigh's Sara Ellis propelled Lehigh past Saint Joseph's women's basketball team, 68-66, Monday at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.

The Hawks, who trailed by as many as 15 in the second half, clawed back to tie the score with seven seconds remaining on a driving layup by sophomore guard Whitney Ffrench.

On the inbounds, Ffrench went for a steal but was called for a foul, sending Ellis to the line with :04.9 seconds remaining.

Following Ellis' second free throw, the Mountain Hawks' Mary Hynoski stole the inbounds pass only to miss a layup, allowing Saint Joseph's a desperation three-point attempt. Unfortunately for the Hawks, Maura McBryan's half-court heave was off the mark.

In the first half, Lehigh jumped out to an early 19-8 lead, converting 8 of its first 11 shots. Lehigh's Jessica DePalo capped the run with a layup at 12:41.

Saint Joseph's scrapped back, and trailed by only five at the half, 33-28, thanks to a 9-2 run to end the stanza. Junior guard Kelly Springman ended the run with a three-pointer with 56 seconds remaining.

The Mountain Hawks came out shooting in the second half and extended their lead to 12, 42-30, on a DePalo layup.

Despite trailing by 15, 58-43, with 8:17 remaining, Saint Joseph's staged a dramatic comeback to tie the game on Ffrench's layup. The Hawks outscored the Mountain Hawks 21-8 to tie the score at 66, before Ellis solidified the game with two free throws.

For the game, Lehigh out shot the Saint Joseph's 51.2 percent to 45.8 percent and held a commanding 38-18 edge in points in the paint. The Mountain Hawks won the battle of the boards, grabbing 32 boards, including 16 offensive, to SJU's 24.

Four Saint Joseph's players scored in double figures, led by redshirt freshman forward Erica Pollock's 15 and five rebounds. McBryan tied her career-best with 13 points, while Ffrench and junior Christine Roth added 11 apiece.

DePalo led all scorers, pouring in 28 points, including the 1,000th of her career. Ellis finished with 12 points while Hynoski added nine points to go with 12 rebounds.

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 2-5 on the season, while Lehigh improves to 3-1.

Saint Joseph's returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Big 5 rival Pennsylvania at 7 p.m.