NEWARK, NJ – Sophomore guard Alana Dudley scored 12 points for NJIT, but it was in vain, as Lehigh took the early lead and maintained control throughout in a 74-54 victory over NJIT in women's basketball action Friday night at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

The victory enabled the Mountain Hawks to improve to 3-0, while the Highlanders dropped to 1-2 on the early part of the season.

Lehigh had three players score in double figures, led by sophomore forward Lexi Martins, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Kerry Kinek, a 6-foot-3 junior  had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the winners and 6-foot-2 junior Elizabeth Sharlow added12 points off the bench for the Mountain Hawks.

Dudley was the lone Highlander player to reach double figures in scoring. Senior forward Martina Matejcikova added 9 points and sophomore forward Leah Horton followed at eight. The Highlanders were totally dominated off the backboards, losing the rebounding battle by a 45-20 margin.

The Mountain Hawks jumped out quickly, scoring the game's first eight points. Katie O'Reilly scored the first three on a layup and a free throw, Kinick canned a 3-pointer and Martins had a rebound basket, giving Lehigh an 8-0 lead 3:48 into the opening half.

The Highlanders sliced the lead in half to 8-4, but then Lehigh used the perimeter to increase its advantage double digits. Kiernan McCloskey and Martins both made shots from beyond the arc, giving the Mountain Hawks a 16-6 lead.

Martins then added a conventional 3-point play with 8:16 remaining in the first half to push the lead to 21-8.

The Highlanders got going with a 9-0 run that cut the lead to 21-17 with 5:17 left in the half. Senior forward Nicole Maticka made a conventional 3-point play and Horton had two power moves down low during that stretch.

But the Mountain Hawks went on a 9-2 run to claim a 30-19 lead with 1:55 remaining, with Martins and Kinick scoring on moves down low.

Lehigh held a 35-22 lead at intermission.

Alana Dudley's second trifecta of the second half brought the Highlanders to within 10 at 46-36 with 12 minutes remaining in the contest. But Bernadette Devaney canned a corner trey that pushed the Mountain Hawks' lead to 52-38 with 9:57 left.

McCloskey's conventional 3-point play pushed Lehigh's lead to 59-40 with 7:42 remaining. And Kinek's free throw soon after gave Lehigh its biggest lead of the night at 60-40 with 7:11 left.

The Highlanders return to action Tuesday night, when they play host to St. Francis Brooklyn, with game time at the Fleisher Athletic Center set for 7 pm.

(game report courtesy of Jim Hague)