HAMILTON, N.Y. – On a snowy Sunday in Hamilton, Lehigh outscored the Raiders 40-26 in the second half to pull away with the victory. Lehigh had three players in double figures, led by Emma Grothaus with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Megan Walker went four for six from the three-point arc to notch 16 points for the day. Colgate saw a strong performance from Morgan McMahon with a team leading 14 points and six rebounds, coupled with 11 points from Alexa Brodie, but overall it was not enough to catch the defending Patriot League champion Mountain Hawks. 

Brodie started off the Raiders' scoring by putting their first four points on the board. Lehigh kept the score tight but then McMahon put two of her own in and the Raiders were up 8-7. After the Mountain Hawks' Megan Walker dropped a three, Sophia Diehl added a layup entering the media timeout all tied up at 10. Lehigh jumped out to a four point lead but Brodie added her third basket of the afternoon which was again followed up by McMahon's fast break layup off a steal. Tied up at 14, Lehigh put two quick threes in the net that was answered with a deuce from Diehl. Two free throws had the Mountain Hawks end the quarter up with a score of 22-16. 

The second quarter saw both teams add 10 points to their score. Lehigh had pulled ahead by as much as 10 points but Colgate chipped away at their lead. The Raiders played tough defensively in this quarter limiting Lehigh's scoring opportunities. Morgan Frank notched her first two points of the game with a nice jumper, Brodie followed with a step back jumper, and Jenna Paul and McMahon each put in points behind the arc to keep the game close at the end of the first half, 32-26.

To start the scoring in the second half, Brodie went to the line and sank both shots, which was followed with a layup to keep the Raiders within five, down 37-32. After eight unanswered points by Lehigh, McMahon responded with a three point jumper. Paul added a basket, Brodie added a free throw, and Tiasia McMillan put in her first basket, but the Mountain Hawks closed out the quarter having extended their lead 53- 40.

Colgate came out strong in the fourth quarter causing Lehigh to call a timeout 12 seconds in off strong defensive play. Two more defensive stops kept Lehigh from putting points on the board for almost two minutes. Colgate's first points came from Diehl on the free throw line. A quick defensive rebound by McMahon sent her end to end with a driving layup and she followed that up with a shot beyond the arc for three. Diehl added another free throw and a jumper to tally nine points for the game. The Raiders would end the game off points in the paint by Frank who also scored nine points, her season high. 

FROM THE SOURCE
Head coach Ganiyat Adeduntan

"Going into today's contest I challenged our team to play tougher and more aggressively. We saw stretches where they accomplished that and played with determination and intensity. Defensively we had really strong segments and held a really good offensive team below their season average. We had some strong stops and our players continued to show their toughness through hustle plays. We are looking forward to our next contest with American with the goal of making improvements both individually and as a team." 

UP NEXT
Colgate (2-10, 0-2 PL) will hit the road for the first time in over a month, traveling to Washington D.C. to take on American Wednesday at 6 p.m.