Box Score
BETHLEHEM, PA – Lehigh extended its home-winning streak to 23 Friday in a 64-38 women's basketball non-conference victory over visiting NJIT at the Stable Arena.
The Mountain Hawks, 8-2 on the season, did not take long to gain the upper hand against NJIT Friday evening.
Senior guard Alex Ross scored 14 points leading three double-figure scorers for Lehigh, which also got 10 points from Emily Gratch, Erica Prosser and Kristen Dalton.
Ross, became Lehigh's all-time leader in three-point field goals made (239) sinking her second three-pointer of the contest late in the second half.
Junior guard Jessica Gerald (14 points) was the only double-figure scorer for NJIT, which struggled to score all day, shooting 12-for-55 from the field against a Lehigh defense. Gerald netted 10 of her 14 points in the second half.
NJIT scored the first points of the contest on a jumper from the wing by Katie Piekielski, but Lehigh soon pushed its lead to 22-8 after a fast break three-pointer by Tricia Smith and a jumper by Prosser, the latest at the 5:10 mark.
Halftime leading scorer was Lehigh's Prosser (8) while NJIT was led by Piekielski and Gerald (4).
Lehigh quickly extended its lead to 26 with a 12-2 start in the first six minutes of the second half.
NJIT cut the deficit to 18, after Gerald's back-to-back layups, with 8:16 left, 48-30. But the Mountain Hawks answered back with a 7-0 spurt that began with Gratch at the line shooting a one-on-one with eight minutes left.
Lehigh got a game-high nine assists out of Prosser, who is picked as Patriot League Player of the Year and ranks first in the league with 3.9apg.
The Mountain Hawks also had a 51-40 rebounding advantage paced by Smith's seven rebounds. Taiwo Oyelola, who grabbed nine rebounds, led the Highlanders.
The Highlanders will have a quick turnaround when they host University of Massachusetts on Sunday at 12pm in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
UMass, who defeated the Highlanders last year in Amherst, 63-50, is 5-6 on the year and will enter the game looking to snap a two-game skid.
