EVANSTON, Ill. (November 10, 2024) – Visiting Lehigh (2-1) shot north of 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc, connecting on 18 triples, as it dealt Northwestern (0-2) an 85-68 defeat this afternoon inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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How It Happened
With the two teams knotted up at 4-4 early on, Casey Harter drilled a three to spark a 7-0 Northwestern run, a spurt capped off by a Kyla Jones layup that put the 'Cats up, 11-4, with less than four minutes gone. Lehigh responded with a surge of its own, rattling off 13 unanswered points, nine of which came from distance, to charge in front, 17-11. Melannie Daley knocked down a mid-range jumper as part of a quarter-ending 6-0 spurt for Northwestern that saw it pull even at 17-17.
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Following another Jones bucket two minutes into the second frame, Lehigh went back to work from outside, connecting on four straight threes to establish a 33-21 advantage at the 5:39 mark. Taylor Williams muscled up an attempt inside to trim the gap to 37-27 with 3:22 to go, but Lehigh kept its foot on the gas en route to taking a 47-31 lead into the halftime locker room.
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Northwestern looked to quickly chip away at its deficit coming out of the intermission, with another Harter trey and a Jones fast break bucket cutting the gap to 47-36 less than 30 seconds in. Scores on consecutive trips by Williams again made it an 11-point game, 53-42, before a Lau three saw the 'Cats claw within 63-53.Â
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Lau's triple proved to pull Northwestern as close as it would get the rest of the afternoon, as Lehigh closed out its second win of the young season.
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Inside The Box Score
- Bolstered by a 13-point showing during the second half, Williams paced Northwestern with 22 points (9-15 FGs, 4-8 FTs) and a game-high 11 rebounds.
    - Williams put up the 29th double-double of her collegiate career, while also surpassing the 20-point mark for the 12th time.
    - Led by Williams' effort, Northwestern enjoyed a dominant 44-20 advantage in points in the paint.
- Lau finished just three assists shy of matching her career high in the category, dishing out 12 helpers, while also adding six points (2-8 FGs, 1-5 3FGs, 1-2 FTs) and a career-high tying four steals.
    - Lau, who was guilty of only one turnover on the afternoon, now has four career games of 10-plus assists.
- Fresh off a 28-point showing in Wednesday's opener, Jones finished with 11 points (5-9 FGs, 1-2 FTs) and three steals.
- Harter scored in double figures for the second time in as many games, chipping in 10 points (4-10 FGs, 2-5 3FGs).
- Lily Fandre led all scorers with 26 points (8-14 FGs, 6-9 3FGs, 4-4 FTs) for Lehigh.
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Up Next
Northwestern hosts Utah on Thursday, November 14 in a 6 p.m. matchup that will be televised on Big Ten Network.
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Gallery: (11-10-2024) Women's Basketball vs. Lehigh
How It Happened
With the two teams knotted up at 4-4 early on, Casey Harter drilled a three to spark a 7-0 Northwestern run, a spurt capped off by a Kyla Jones layup that put the 'Cats up, 11-4, with less than four minutes gone. Lehigh responded with a surge of its own, rattling off 13 unanswered points, nine of which came from distance, to charge in front, 17-11. Melannie Daley knocked down a mid-range jumper as part of a quarter-ending 6-0 spurt for Northwestern that saw it pull even at 17-17.
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Following another Jones bucket two minutes into the second frame, Lehigh went back to work from outside, connecting on four straight threes to establish a 33-21 advantage at the 5:39 mark. Taylor Williams muscled up an attempt inside to trim the gap to 37-27 with 3:22 to go, but Lehigh kept its foot on the gas en route to taking a 47-31 lead into the halftime locker room.
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Northwestern looked to quickly chip away at its deficit coming out of the intermission, with another Harter trey and a Jones fast break bucket cutting the gap to 47-36 less than 30 seconds in. Scores on consecutive trips by Williams again made it an 11-point game, 53-42, before a Lau three saw the 'Cats claw within 63-53.Â
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Lau's triple proved to pull Northwestern as close as it would get the rest of the afternoon, as Lehigh closed out its second win of the young season.
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Inside The Box Score
- Bolstered by a 13-point showing during the second half, Williams paced Northwestern with 22 points (9-15 FGs, 4-8 FTs) and a game-high 11 rebounds.
    - Williams put up the 29th double-double of her collegiate career, while also surpassing the 20-point mark for the 12th time.
    - Led by Williams' effort, Northwestern enjoyed a dominant 44-20 advantage in points in the paint.
- Lau finished just three assists shy of matching her career high in the category, dishing out 12 helpers, while also adding six points (2-8 FGs, 1-5 3FGs, 1-2 FTs) and a career-high tying four steals.
    - Lau, who was guilty of only one turnover on the afternoon, now has four career games of 10-plus assists.
- Fresh off a 28-point showing in Wednesday's opener, Jones finished with 11 points (5-9 FGs, 1-2 FTs) and three steals.
- Harter scored in double figures for the second time in as many games, chipping in 10 points (4-10 FGs, 2-5 3FGs).
- Lily Fandre led all scorers with 26 points (8-14 FGs, 6-9 3FGs, 4-4 FTs) for Lehigh.
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Up Next
Northwestern hosts Utah on Thursday, November 14 in a 6 p.m. matchup that will be televised on Big Ten Network.